The Search for Potter
by evyfleur
Summary: Hermione, Ron, and Draco? They end up together, fighting all sorts of things (that aren't just physical) in order to find Harry Potter again, but will it all stop once they've found him? *Chapter 22 is up- complete!!!*
1. The Boys Are Back

**Chapter 1: **

**Author's Note:** Hey! This is my first chapter of what is going to be a very long fanfic. So, if you're up for a ride please read and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's all Rowling's, not mine! And will someone please get rid of that annoying Warner Bros. company, or whatever that hopelessly pathetic company is called?

_The Boys are Back_

            Hermione woke up, taking a look at her alarm clock. _Oh no, _she thought, _I'll be late for work again. _

            She had just gotten a job at the Ministry of Magic, and was in the same department as Bartemius Crouch had been in before he was murdered. When the three friends (a.k.a., the Dream Team) graduated, Harry had taken a job to be an Auror's apprentice, since they were so high in demand. Voldemort was still steadily rising, and attacks were becoming more frequent. Apparently, according to what Hermione had heard, Ron didn't have any job except to work in his brothers' joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Surprisingly, Hermione didn't need a job.

            She had consented to marry Viktor Krum. Krum was a star Quidditch player on the Bulgarian Quidditch Team, and had fallen madly in love with her. When Ron had found out, he became infuriated. Her chocolate brown eyes filled with tears as she remembered the night before graduation:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "You said you would what?!"

            "I said I would marry him."

            "You're kidding, right?"

            "No, Ron. I love him, and he loves me, and we're getting married."

            "I can't believe you, Mione! You don't love him, you just can't… you can't!"

            "How would you know? You're not me, are you? I'm marrying Viktor whether you like it or not!"

            "I swear, if you marry him, I will never talk to you again."

            "Fine, then! Don't."

            "Good-bye then, Hermione."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            He hadn't spoken to her since then. About a year after she and Viktor were married, Viktor was in a terrible accident. A bludger knocked him off his broom. He died in St. Mungo's a week later from a severe wound to his head and internal bleeding. He left nothing in his will to Hermione. His Bulgarian family had gotten everything, and they had never been very fond of Hermione. They kicked her out of the house with all of her things (not much) and she had to move back to England and beg for help to get some sort of residence.

            Hermione was then forced to get a job, which was graciously provided by her former professor and headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He had a lot of connections with the ministry. She was twenty-two now, with no husband and no friends (Harry had been too busy overseas to write to her). All she had was a job and a tiny apartment in London.

            Hermione got up, dressed, brushed her hair, and ate breakfast. She then hurried out the door, heading towards the London Underground as she did every day. Putting her pass through the turnstile, she waited for the right train, the blue line, that is.

            As she was boarding, she bumped into someone.

            "Oh, excuse me," she said with a quick smile.

            "No problem," was the man's reply. This was a hurried response, though. It seemed he was having a very heated discussion with the person next to him. She started to watch him intently. This was a bit of a hobby that Hermione had picked up. He was wearing a regular muggle suit with a dark trench coat over it. On his head was a wide brimmed, black hat. He took his hat off for a moment to run his fingers through his hair. _Must be a nervous habit, _she thought to herself. His hair was bright red. _How familiar, she thought. She saw that he looked almost the same age as her, only he was a bit taller and thinner (and more muscular) than she was. _

            She now turned her attention to the man he was talking to. They seemed to be arguing about something very important, but she couldn't quite make it out. The other man was dressed in stylish black pants, a black shirt, and a dark silver tie. He had stone-gray eyes and white blonde hair that contrasted very severely with what he was wearing.

            Closing her eyes, Hermione thought about where she could've seen them before. She had never seen them at the ministry before, but they seemed so familiar. _It's just deja vu, she thought, brushing it off._

            The train stopped, and the seats on either side of her emptied. The two men came over and sat down, looking a little relieved that they weren't sitting next to each other. _Hmm, _she thought, _they must have a long trip. She looked over at the blonde-haired man and noticed he was startlingly handsome. He noticed her and looked back with steely gray eyes._

            "What are you looking at?" He demanded, his full, wide eyes suddenly narrowing at her. At this, the other man leaned over, and muttered,

 "Don't mind my friend, he's a bit angry at the moment." 

He laughed a little at this, but quickly stifled it. "If you don't mind my asking, have I met you before?" He seemed to feel a bit awkward about it. 

            With a closer look she could see that this man was tired. Not just tired as though he didn't get enough sleep, but almost though he was tired with his life, maybe his situation. Somehow she knew that expression he was wearing, but she just couldn't place it.

            "I don't think so, but I see what you mean," she said politely.

            "Oh, okay," he answered. He started to stare at the dirty floor of the underground train.

            "Um, where do you get off?" She said, trying to keep the conversation.

            "Waterloo," he replied.

            "Same here," she said, thinking. She looked at where the insides of his pockets would be and something caught her eye. Something was poking out.

            "You're not a muggle, are you?" She almost whispered, gazing into his freckled, blue-eyed face and wondering where she had seen it before.

            "Well, no, I'm not. How did you know?" He stuck his hands into his pockets as he said this, and his ears turned pink.

            "Your wand," she stated in a somewhat haughty, nonchalant voice. The man suddenly got a terrified look on his face (which turned beet red) and looked away hastily.

            "What's wrong with you?" asked the blonde-haired man.

            "Shove off, ferret," he shot back.

            Hermione had to have heard this before, she knew she had. She repeated "ferret" to herself over and over again (in her head, obviously). _Of course, she thought, __how could I not have known? I can't believe how stupid I am!_

            She turned and looked at the blonde-haired man again in a whole new light. Soon, he found himself being hugged very tightly by the stranger next to him on the train.

            "What the hell are you doing?" He said, looking fairly shocked and disgruntled at the same time, and brushing his coat off as though she had gotten it dirty.

            "I can't believe I didn't recognize you, Malfoy!" She said, trying to catch her breath. "You can call me mudblood or beaver or whatever you want. Please, just acknowledge that you remember me!"

            "Granger, is it you?" he interrogated.

            "Yes, it's me!" She cried with delight that she was talking to someone from Hogwarts for the first time in four years.

            Then she turned to her friend, Ron Weasley, who she knew wouldn't talk to her anymore since he realized who it was.

            "Ron? Please talk to me, Ron. I'm so sorry," she said.

The train stopped at the station and the three got off, walking to Hermione's office. Hermione and Draco were talking, but Ron walked a few feet behind them, deep in thought.

            _But _what are they doing here? _When they got to the office, the answer to the question Hermione had been thinking about was lying on her desk. ___

            "It's a letter from Dumbledore," said Hermione in bewilderment.

            "Oh, good job, mudblood, now what does it say? Or can you not read?"

            This was a ridiculous insult to give Hermione, since he knew perfectly well from being in school with her that she was constantly reading, even when she wasn't working. But then again, Draco's insults had always been pretty ridiculous. Ron opened his mouth and looked like he was about to say something, but stopped himself from making any comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            **_Dear Ms. Granger, _**

**_I have sent two unspeakables to speak with you (Quite ironic isn't it?) about matters they will disclose. I must not say in this letter, in the circumstance that it might be intercepted._**

**_            Sincerely,_**

**_            Professor Albus Dumbledore _**

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

"You two are Unspeakables?" she asked incredulously. 

The two men nodded.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to start talking again, Ron. Now, what's the problem?"

"We don't know where Potter is," said Malfoy lazily.

"What?"

"You heard what I said Granger. Weasley, you get to explain the details. I'm getting myself a coffee," he said, patting Ron on the back and walking to the door.

            The two turned to Malfoy, and at the same time said, 

"What do you mean, you "don't know where he is"?" 

            "What do you mean, I "get to explain the details"?"

            He sighed in exasperation.

"We. Can't. Find. Potter. He hasn't written to Dumbledore or anyone else for two months. No one has seen him either." Malfoy was acting like Hermione was an idiot. Then he turned to Ron and said in a quieter voice, "You do want her to know what happened, don't you?"

            "Hey, since when have you been in charge, Malfoy?" Hermione said, obviously getting over the shock of what he had said to her.

            "Stop. I'm not going to speak to either of you if you get in a fight. It doesn't matter what happened, Draco. All Dumbledore said is that we should find him," Ron interrupted them, sounding very annoyed.

            _Since when have Ron and Malfoy been on a first name basis? Hermione wondered. She also had no idea of when Ron had managed to get control of his temper. But she took another route instead of voicing that._

"Us? We're supposed to find him? We're supposed to find Harry? Why us?" She repeated, she never had so many thoughts and questions in her head before. Now she understood when back in their fourth year Harry had tried to explain Dumbledore's penseive to them.

            "Dumbledore said that he trusted us, that he knew we would lay down our lives to find him because he was our friend," said Ron. He sounded a little more used to talking to Hermione again. 

"Though he didn't say why he chose you, Draco," he added.

            "I don't really care why he chose me. I just want to get this done. Then I can get more important business done."

This had an effect on Hermione. She got up from her desk, tears in her eyes, walked around her neat desk and slapped Draco Malfoy across the face as hard as she possibly could. She had only done that once before, in their third year, when Malfoy had been talking about getting Hagrid fired. 

Malfoy's eyes became slits of gray in his pale face and he silently put a hand up to where Hermione had slapped him. It was turning red very quickly. He grabbed his wand, and pointing it at her he warned in a grave, menacing voice, 

"Don't you dare ever touch me again, mudblood."

            Ron strode over to Malfoy and took his wand from him, pocketing it. 

"We're not in school anymore," he said, "and you can't do this anymore. We're allies; we don't have the time to fight; we need to find Harry," he broke off and took a breath, thinking.

            "I think we're all a bit in shock. We should just cool off and start talking about this tomorrow," he finished.

            "Okay. You guys can stay at my house. I have an extra room you can use," said Hermione. She was very relieved to not have to face everything that day.

            "Erm, no, I think we should stay at the Leaky Cauldron tonight," Ron said cautiously, with a meaningful glance at Hermione. 

            "Fine," she said. 

            They left her there. Malfoy was looking very put out that he had been denied a great duel and Ron was looking as though he would snap and have a nervous breakdown if anything else happened soon. She sighed and sat down, reading Dumbledore's letter to herself again and again. 

~Evyfleur


	2. The Domino Effect

**Chapter 2:**

**Author's Note:** This is my second Chapter, for all those blonde covered dunderheads out there!( No offense, I'm partially blonde, too.) Thanks to all those wonderful people who reviewed, that huge number of one!!! But thank you very much Aragorn/Ravenclawizard/Hayes. I very much appreciated your review.

**Disclaimer:** This belongs solely to J.K. Rowling, except for my plot and the concept that Draco Malfoy doesn't always have to be bad. Don' sue me, Warner Brothers, you bbbaaaad people, you! By the way, call me at 555-5555, area  code 555, Extension 5, if you want to join my secret rebellion against owning book rights. People's imaginations should be shared among all people! Bwahahahahaha!!!! Just kidding, of course. Please R and R!

_The Domino Effect_

            The next day, Hermione felt much more relaxed. She knew she probably shouldn't be, since Harry was missing, but she couldn't help thinking that with her and Ron together, they'd find him in no time. _It'll be great, having him as a friend again,_ she thought. What (or who I should say) she was worried about was Draco Malfoy. He was only doing this for the work, but Hermione figured out why Dumbledore chose him. He probably wanted to get Malfoy exposed to good things, and be steered away from becoming a Death Eater. _It was smart of him to do that, _she thought, _that__ will be good for him._

            But when she got to work, the only one there was the object of her thoughts. Malfoy. 

            " Where's Ron?" Hermione asked. 

            " He wants to talk to you," replied Malfoy, handing her a slightly damp newspaper, " he's busy drowning his sorrows in the Leaky Cauldron."

            She glanced at the paper, and fainted, Malfoy catching her in the fall.

            The paper had said: **21-YEAR OLD GINNY WEASLEY KIDNAPPED BY DEATH EATERS.** Under this was an old school picture of her. She was smiling and waving, with her flaming red hair standing out.

            "Ennervate," muttered Malfoy. Hermione's eyes fluttered open.

            "Ginny," she shouted," I can't believe it! Why her? How did they find her? Why did you do this?!" She said suddenly, turning away from staring into space. She glared at Malfoy, with her soon-to-be-patented Stare of Death. 

            He looked a bit surprised, but quickly regained himself.

            "Me? You think that I, am a Death Eater?"

            "Well, your father is, isn't he? I thought that you, would follow in his footsteps!" Hermione said this while shaking uncontrollably.

            " I can assure you, I am not a Death Eater. First of all, I hate my father. Second, if I was a Death Eater, I would have killed you and Weasley already, wouldn't I? I mean, they aren't the most discreet things, are they?"

            Hermione was speechless, struck with a piercing guilt. She didn't understand anything. What relief she had felt that morning seemed to suddenly disappear. But Malfoy didn't say anything more. He just gently took her hand, and led her to that old pub they all knew so well.

            She felt empty. How could ALL this happen to her? She remembered that she thought she was sad when Viktor died! _No, somehow this is much worse, much more serious. How could both Harry and Ginny both be kidnapped at the same time? And why does this have to happen to me? Two of my best friends are gone, and I don't even have time to be sad about it! They immediately have to recruit me, to save them. It isn't fair. And it's not only that, my colleague/arch enemy is taking me to the Leaky Cauldron, to see my old enemy/best friend! This is all too confusing! _

By this time, they had gotten to the pub. Hermione sat down next to Ron, not saying anything. The only sound she seemed to hear was Ron's sobbing. Draco sat comfortably across them, picking up the newspaper to skim through the article. Hermione felt a small stab of hatred for him, or was it jealousy? 

            Ron looked up. His face was pale, and his freckles seemed to have awkwardly rearranged themselves, because they looked as though they didn't belong to his face. He picked up his glass and drank it in one gulp. He then looked over at Hermione, and broke down again. He embraced Hermione with a helpless hug. She hugged him back, unable to cry. All she could do was to say, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Ron."

            "Bloody heck," said Malfoy calmly, "you're talking about her as though she's already dead!" They turned and glared at him.

            "I mean, all I meant was that now we have two jobs to do, and I'm sure that if we find Potter, we'll find little Weasley nearby. Uh, have you read this article yet?" He added hastily, his brow furrowed.

            "No." Answered Ron roughly, vaguely reminiscent of his father, after the Death Eater attacks after the Quidditch World Cup.

            "Well, it says here that the last time she was seen, she was telling her mother that she was off to see you…" They all furrowed their brows at this. _Why would she do that? It looked as though that's what the other two were also thinking._

            "Ron, does Ginny have a job?" Hermione asked.

            "Um, yeah, she worked part-time at Fred and George's joke shop. The rest of the time she'd spend with Mum and Dad. They wanted someone around the house to take care of things. Why?"

            " I say we send an owl to Dumbledore about what we should do, and research while we wait for his answer," said Malfoy, matter-of-factly.

            "I'm going to get a drink, and a book." Said Hermione, while Ron and Malfoy started talking. She went out the backdoor of the pub, and found herself facing a brick wall. _Three above the trashcan, and two to the right.__ There. Tap, tap. Diagon Alley opened in front of her, and she stepped in. _

            Hermione strode down the cobblestoned street, staring at the stores she remembered. _Oh, dear. All those happy memories. Where've they gone? Oh, there's Flourish and Blott's. She stepped into the store that held books as large as paving slabs, and ones as small as postage stamps. The shelves of books beckoned to Hermione, so she walked down the rows, running her finger across the bindings of the books. _

            Finally, one book caught her eye. It was a handsome blue and black volume. Across the front it stated The History of the Dark Lord and His Supporters. She picked it up and while flipping through it, walked up to the sales clerk.

            "Yes?" Inquired the short man. 

            "I'd like to buy this book," she said, and handed the man a few galleons.

            With her nose in the book, Hermione walked back up the street. She wasn't watching where she was going, and into what seemed to be a small mountain.

            "Hermione! S'that you? Well! It is you! How've you bin' doin'?" Hagrid said, smiling ear to ear as he pulled Hermione to her feet. 

            "Hagrid!" She cried, burying her head deeply into his moleskin coat, trying to give him a hug. 

            They walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, while Hermione explained everything, well, everything she knew. When they reached it, Ron and Malfoy were still talking. When they heard her talking, they looked up, confused. Ron smiled. It was the first true smile she had seen from him in a long time. Malfoy just rolled his eyes. 

            "Did you send that owl to Dumbledore yet?" Hermione asked.

            "Just did," said Ron, breathlessly. He got up, and gave Hagrid a big hug. Hagrid leaned over and somewhat whispered something into Ron's ear, causing Ron to get a grin reminding Hermione of Gred and Forge. I mean Fred and George. Then he walked over to Malfoy. His face turned grim. Malfoy looked scared, and gave Hagrid a wide-eyed, pale stare. Hagrid gave a great booming laugh, and gave Malfoy a hug, too. Ron and Hermione had to laugh too, at Malfoy's ruffled, bewildered look. 

            "So, Hermione tells me that yeh've got a lot on yer plates right now. Harry's missin'? I'll beat the livin' daylights outta whoever did it! An' Ginny! She's such a nice, sweet girl. Always seemed a little squeamish to me, but nice. I know yeh'll find 'em, I've no doubt about it. An' you were smart about owlin' Dumbledore. Great man, Dumbledore."

            They all had gotten drinks (well, about five for Hagrid), and sat down, discussing what had happened. Ron and Hermione couldn't help but smile. Hagrid could lift anyone's spirits, as long as he didn't involve any of his pets. 

            "You're right, Hagrid." Said Ron, a look of determination on his face. "We will find them, but not if we're just sitting and moping about it. We should get to work."

            "Now, tha's the spirit! I'm gonna go now, I gotta get my classes on Demiguise ready for this year," said Hagrid, causing all three to flinch. When they remembered the Blast-Ended Skrewts, they were glad that they were no longer in school. 

            They all said good-bye, and then finished their drinks, picking up all the latest newspapers as they left.

            Back at the office, they got busy. Malfoy researching ancient Death Eater meeting places, Hermione researching Death Eater habits, and Ron studying the newspapers.

            "It doesn't give any examples of famous people being held hostage by Death Eaters, this doesn't help at all!" Hermione said, frustrated that she couldn't find anything more useful. She was so frustrated and distracted, that she found herself reading the same sentence several times. She was so frustrated and distracted, that she found herself reading the same sentence several times. She was so frustrated and distracted, that she found herself reading the same sentence several times.

            She closed her book, and sat at her desk, thinking about what they could do to get a lead. 

            "Says here that the Castle of Blarney is being haunted, that's a good bet," said Ron.

            "One of the old meeting places was near there, in Ireland, that could work," added Malfoy, not taking his eyes off his book.

            _A trail…a trail… somewhere Harry would usually be…commonplace…aha, his house…maybe his master's house, too…She thought a little bit more about it, and decided to run it past them._

            "You guys? How about we take a look at Harry's house? I don't know how often he was there, but we could try his master's house, too," Hermione said. They nodded thoughtfully. "Send an owl to your Mum and Dad, and ask them if Ginny did or said anything unusual that day, before she left. And maybe we can search her room."

            "Why don't we send Dumbledore another owl? Then he'll actually know what we're doing, and can help us," said Malfoy, with mocking wide eyes, idiotic expression, and his patented sarcastic drawl. Hermione rolled her eyes, and responded just as sarcastically. "What a great idea, Malfoy! You can send it to him!" 

            "Speak of the devil," said Ron, as an owl swooped in the window, and landed in front of them. 

Malfoy took the letter from the owl and read out loud, " 

_Dear Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Malfoy,_

_I am extremely sorry about what has happened. I encourage you to work quickly, before any further attacks are made. Thank you for helping in this great time of need._

_Sincerely,_

_Professor Albus Dumbledore_

Well, that was certainly informative, wasn't it?" Malfoy said, folding the letter in half, and giving it to Ron, who read it over again. 

"He said move quickly," Hermione pleaded, "let's go! We can go to Harry's house first, and then to the Burrow. 

Malfoy gave them a confused look when she mentioned this, but said nothing, and apparated along with them to Harry's house. 

~_Evyfleur_


	3. The Lonely Letters

**Chapter 3:**

**Author's Note: Hey, guys! Thank you all for reading my first two chapters, and I'm soooooo sorry for uploading this so late. All you R/H shippers will just have to wait, this is a long story. I will keep writing as fast as I can, and Welcome Aboard the Good Ship R/H!!! By the way, this chapter is dedicated to Sarah, a good friend of mine from school. Her nickname is Hermione.**

            **Disclaimer:** Bugger off, Warner Bros., I'm not making any of your money.

_The Lonely Letters_

            When they arrived, they were greeted by a rotting wooden sign, which read: Godric's Hollow, in faded, black letters. The trio approached Harry's house very cautiously, wands raised. Inside, everything was extremely messy. In the living room, tables were upturned, CDs on the floor, pictures crooked, papers strewn everywhere, and everything else was the same.

            " This place was raided," said Ron, bending down to pick up a chair. 

            "Very good, Weasley. We didn't notice," drawled Malfoy. 

            As they walked through each room in the house, they got more and more depressed. Hermione was almost brought to tears when she saw his old school trunk, lying in the corner of one of the rooms. 

            "Come on, let's open it," said Ron, taking Hermione's hand. It was locked.

            "Hermione, what's that opening spell you used to save us from Filch in our first year?"

            " You mean the one that got us into the Forbidden   
Corridor on the third floor, in the middle of the night, with that horrible, three- headed dog "Fluffy"?" She asked through wet eyes. 

            "So my midnight duel trick worked, did it?!" Malfoy laughed. Ron hushed him. 

            "Uh, yeah, that one," said Ron uneasily.

            "You know that spell just as well as I do," said Hermione, but she opened it anyway. Inside, they found his books, his firebolt, his invisibility cloak, the old sneakoskope Ron had given him, and an old piece of parchment. The sneakoscope started whistling shrilly. 

            "Ah, this thing's probably broken by now," said Ron, "but we should probably take the cloak and map. They could help."

            Malfoy recognized the cloak, but said, "What map?"

            Ron showed him the piece of old parchment, and took out his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," said Ron. The familiar map of the Hogwarts castle spread across the sheet. In awe, Malfoy examined the map closely. "Whoa," he said.

            Ron then muttered, "Mischief managed," and tapped it with his wand. It went blank; he took it from Malfoy and put it in his pocket.

            As they walked through each room in the house, they got more depressed. Each was messier than the last, but with no useful information. When they reached the last and smallest room in the house, they halted. All three gasped, a short intake of breath, surprise. 

            "Is it _ just me, or is this room a bit different?" Malfoy asked, looking confused and a little shaken.

            "It's not you. This room is very different." Hermione stepped forward, and looked around the room. 

            What was different about this room was actually quite simple. It appeared as though it hadn't been touched. It was neat and organized, as though they had just forgot about it being there. If they hadn't seen the rest of the house, they could've guessed that someone was still living there. 

            They searched the room thoroughly, looking everywhere. All of Harry's belongings, save the ones they had found earlier, and his wand, were there. "This is very odd," Malfoy commented, looking through Harry's clothes.

            "What's this?" asked Ron, holding up a small scrap of paper. "It was the only thing on the floor. The rest of the rug is clean."

            The other two hurried over to investigate the new-found clue. On it, was a single letter: F. "Let's look through the rest of the house. We might've not noticed these in the other rooms!" Hermione declared, as she always did when they were close to figuring something out. By the end of the day, they were exhausted. Back at Hermione's apartment, they looked at all the letters they had collected. 

            F, S, D, I, L, U, E, and I were sitting on the coffee table in the living room. "What are all these letters for?" Ron wondered out loud, before a huge yawn. 

"I don't know, but I'm going to bed," said Malfoy, also yawning. 

            "Don't worry, 'Mione'll have it figured out by morning. I assure you. You know what? I'm gonna go to bed, too," he added. "G'night," said Hermione, biting her fingernail, and staring at the letters. 

            The next morning, Ron walked out of his room, and into the room they worked in last night. Hermione was curled up asleep, on the floor, and on the table, the letters were in arranged in a way that it formed a single word: FIDELIUS. 

            He smiled, shook his head, and thought about it. Then he bent down, and gently shook Hermione awake. "Just five more pages Mummy, please? It's almost the end of the chapter," she said, turning over. 

            Ron whispered, "Hermione, you need to get up." Hermione replied with a groan, and stretched. Ron sighed.

            "I'll make you a bagel," he said, smiling. 

            "A bagel?" Hermione asked, suddenly wide awake. She looked at him, and her face turned pink. "Sorry," she muttered.

"No problem. Good work," he said, helping her to her feet. They walked to the kitchen, and Hermione sat down at the table, while Ron busied himself with making breakfast. He was currently trying to work the toaster, and proceeded to have one fly three feet into the air, and (very hot) land in his hand. "How long were you up last night?" Ron asked, while trying to wave the heat off with an oven mitt. 

            "Oh, just until I….oh, until I figured it out. I don't know what…..time it was," Hermione yawned back. After fifteen minutes, Ron just decided to use magic, and brought over two deliciously, perfectly toasted bagels, smothered in cream cheese. 

            "Mmm…"said Hermione. She was very hungry, after being up so late. She finished chewing and asked, "So, how's everything been going lately? I never really had a chance to ask."

            "Other than the fact that Harry and Ginny are missing? I guess things are alright. Not much was happening until now. We caught a few Death Eaters spying on the Department, though."

            "Really? Who?" 

            "No, wait for it, Crabbe and Goyle."

            "Really?! But they're…"

            "Yes, they're in Azkaban now."

            "But Malfoy said he wasn't a death eater…"said Hermione, trailing off. 

            "Of course not, what do you mean?"

            "Well, those two were his best friends in school, I thought they'd follow him."

            "Hmm," said Ron, through a mouthful of bagel.

            "Anyway, has there been anything else going on? How're the twins, and Percy?"

            "Oh, Fred and George are fine. Fred's finally gotten engaged to Angelina! Oh, and Percy married Penelope Clearwater. Remember? That Ravenclaw prefect you helped out in our second year?"

            "Oh, yeah! Good for Percy! And Fred, too. So, who's your sweetheart now, hmm? Fleur Delacour? Padma Patil? Who?"

            "No,no. Neither of those. Actually, I've been a little too busy with my job to think about stuff like that."

            "Yeah, I'm sure. You probably sit around and beat Malfoy at chess all day!"

            Ron got a disgruntled look on his face, and muttered, "That's not what we do."

            "Then what does an unspeakable do?"

            "I can't tell you. Otherwise, I wouldn't be called an "unspeakable"."

            Ron and Hermione then started bickering, just like old times. Hermione claimed that Ron was just covering the fact that he didn't do anything, by not telling her what he supposedly did. Ron insisted that she just said that because she was jealous and angry that he wouldn't tell her what unspeakables did. Until…

            "Ahem."

            Hermione and Ron looked up, their frustrated faces now mingled with shock. Against the doorway leaned Malfoy, in a silver silk bathrobe that was way too big for him. 

            "Some people were trying to sleep," he said, looking annoyed. Ron and Hermione snorted in laughter. Trying to stifle it, Ron managed to ask, "Is that your bathrobe, Malfoy?" They started laughing again. 

            "No, actually it belongs to the British Museum. Please, people! Why else would I be wearing it?" 

Hermione got control of herself and said, "Well, it is a tad, um, too, er, it's a bit big for you, isn't it?

            Malfoy sighed, rolled his eyes, and went to sit at the table. "Okay, what does "Fidelius" mean?" Malfoy asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. 

            "We don't know yet," said Hermione, taking over. "I'm sure I have a book that mentions it, though."

            They set to work after breakfast, looking through more boring books about illegal spells, and their facts and statistics. "This doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere," said Malfoy, but Ron seemed to be thinking hard about something.

            Hermione stared at him, wondering. _What is he thinking? There must be something, cause that's always the look he gets._

            He suddenly looked up, straight into Hermione's eyes. Those violently blue eyes were twinkling rather brightly. _Yes! He's figured something out!_

            "Hey 'Mione, remember the story of Harry's parents?"

            "Vaguely, why?"

            "Well, do you remember how they hid from Voldemort?"

            Malfoy flinched at this, but Ron was still waiting for Hermione's answer.

            "N-no, I don't," she said, itching to remember something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. 

            He started telling the story, which Hermione and Malfoy listened to with rapt attention. But then he paused. 

            "And then, of course, they would be killed if they didn't hide from him. So they hid with…no, wait for it… the Fidelius Charm!

            "Oh!" Hermione alighted with excitement.

            "And what is that?" asked Malfoy.

            "Well," Ron stated, "It's a charm to hide someone or something. So, if say, I wanted to hide from someone, say Hermione, and I performed the Fidelius Charm, she wouldn't see me sitting here, right next to her. No one else would either. The thing is, I'd need a secret-keeper, let's say you, and you were told where I am. No one would know, or could tell where I was, except you. But if you told anyone, especially Hermione, everyone would suddenly be able to hear me and see me again. Get it?" 

            "Yeah. But you, being the one in hiding, would have to completely rely on me not to tell your secret. You wouldn't be able to tell anyone, either."

"Right."

"Maybe You-Know-Who is under the Fidelius Charm."

"No," said Hermione, "that wouldn't work for him. He wouldn't be able to attack anyone, and the secret-keeper would be in control of his life."

"They all thought about this for a moment. Ron gave a victory whoop, very loudly, and said, "I think I've figured it out!"

"What then? Don't beat around the bush!" Malfoy shouted.

"Right, this isn't really that great, but what if Harry was forced under the Fidelius Charm?"

"Oh no! We'd better send an owl to Dumbledore!" Hermione said, realization dawning on her face.

"Better yet, why don't we see him in person?" Malfoy suggested.

They all agreed on this, and sent Dumbledore a letter ahead, telling him when they were coming.


	4. Memories and Predictions

Memories and Predictions  
  
This chapter is dedicated to my one and only reviewer for the moment!  
  
AshleyWade757- Don't worry about the romance, it's coming a lot in later chapters, I like to keep people in suspense. Here's the next chapter for your reading pleasure. After all, you have told me to keep updating!  
  
Disclaimer: I only own Harry's house from the last chapter, Draco's good side, and Augery and Noss. For the rest of it, a talented writer named J.K. Rowling created it, and then sold her soul to the demon of over- merchandising companies, the dreaded Warner Brothers. So don't sue me, you soon-to-be-patented-helper-of-the-devil, you!  
  
At about noon, the trio reached Hogwarts Castle. As they boarded the horseless carriages, they pulled their cloaks tighter around themselves. The Hogwarts express had taken them back with the students coming back from Christmas vacation. Attracting a lot of weird looks was somewhat normal for Ron and Hermione, but Malfoy looked very disturbed by them.  
  
When they entered the Great Hall, a swarm of relief flooded through them. "Ron! Hermione! What are you doing here?" A warm, congenial voice greeted them. The three of them turned around to see Neville Longbottom standing there, beaming. Malfoy couldn't hold back.  
  
"Longbottom, you aren't still in seventh year, are you?"  
  
"Very funny, Mr. Malfoy. No, actually, I'm the Herbology teacher, isn't that great?"  
  
"Oh, that's wonderful, Neville! To answer your question, we're here to see Dumbledore." Hermione said, glad to see another friend, who was actually happy.  
  
"Really? What's wrong?"  
  
"We… just…uh, misplaced a few things, that's all," Ron said hurriedly.  
  
"Oh, okay. Well, join us for lunch! See ya later"  
  
They then left, and headed toward Dumbledore's office. A large, black dog was waiting for them in front of the gargoyle, and started barking when it saw them approaching.  
  
"Hello Snuffles," said Ron, patting the dog on the head. Hermione then followed suit, and Draco (Though a bit confusedly). The gargoyle hopped aside, and Dumbledore glided down the moving steps. "I came down to see why Snuffles was barking. Well, I can see why! Welcome back! You can step into my office." He looked rather tired, in spite of his optimism. But, as always, he had that familiar twinkle in his eye that only left on special occasions. He looked older than ever, they realized, as he struggled a little, back to the steps.  
  
He led the way up to his office, with the dog behind him, then Hermione and Ron, and Draco pulling up the rear.  
  
When they got to the office, "Snuffles" immediately turned into his normal self, Sirius Black a.k.a. Padfoot. The only one who reacted to this very usual thing (doesn't everyone go transforming from one kind of creature to another without apparent reason, and have three names?) was Draco, who looked a bit shocked.  
  
Sirius walked over to Ron, and gave him what seemed to be a fatherly/brotherly hug. Then Hermione gave him a hug. Black looked at Draco and walked over to him. Holding out his hand, he said, "Hello, I'm Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. Thank you." Draco took his hand. A warm but firm handshake.  
  
"Well, onto business then," said Dumbledore, "you've said that you made a large breakthrough?"  
  
"Yes, we did, sir. We have come to the conclusion that Harry was forced under the Fidelius charm."  
  
Sirius' eyes darkened at this, and he asked, "Do you have any suspicions of where he might be?"  
  
"Not at the moment," replied Draco, "we're trying to figure out the best person that the Dark Lord would choose to keep the secret."  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, his name is Voldemort, always call everything by its proper name."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"I assume that you will stay here for awhile? I, of course, will make sure that the library is fully open to you, I'll have a talk with Madam Pince. And Miss Granger?"  
  
"Yes, sir?"  
  
"Please try not to overwork yourself."  
  
"Oh, Professor, sir, I have an idea of how we could find out who the secret-keeper is. It might be a bit dangerous, but it's not impossible," intervened Ron, saying all this very quickly.  
  
Hermione and Draco looked at him with puzzlement on their faces. " May I suggest that you rest first, Mr. Weasley? By the look of things, you might have to discuss this a little more with your colleagues, too. We'll meet again on Sunday. That is two days of rest and research. Then you may propose this idea to us. Sirius, can you take them to Gryffindor tower? I think there is room in the 7th year dorms.  
  
"Yes, of course." Replied Black.  
  
"Thank you, Professor," said Hermione. Draco and Ron also said their thank yous and they left Dumbledore's office. Sirius was back to his dog form again, obviously.  
  
In the crowded common room, Ron, Draco, and Hermione sat playing chess near the fire. "I'm glad we're only here for two days," Ron was explaining, "since we still have to go to the Burrow. We can forget Harry's master's house."  
  
"What is the Burrow?" Asked Draco, frustrated at the fact that they were always mentioning it.  
  
"Oh, it's my house. Well…my parents house."  
  
"Who cares about that? What was your idea, Ron?" Hermione was clearly, very impatient.  
  
"Remember our fourth year? Barty Crouch? Mad-Eye Moody?"  
  
"I remember him," Draco said disdainfully, with a look of embarrassment and disgust on his face. " He was the one who turned me into a--a--a ferret." He finished this sentence very quietly.  
  
"Sorry?" Both Ron and Hermione asked mockingly, at the same time.  
  
"He turned me into a ferret. Ok?"  
  
"I still couldn't hear you. Could you repeat that a little louder?" Hermione simpered. "Fine! He turned me into a BLOODY FERRET!!!!" He shouted, and half of the common room stared at him as though he was a lunatic. "Bugger off."  
  
Ron and Hermione erupted into laughter at this, and didn't stop until Draco threatened to hex one of them.  
  
Hermione cleared her throat. " Anyway, are you implying that we do what fake Moody did?"  
  
Yeah. It's not like we haven't done it before, and it's not that hard. I mean, we did that in our second year!"  
  
"Not that hard? Ron, look what happened to me when we tried that! And what about time? You guys only stayed like that for an hour, and that was in the stupid Slytherin common room, where everybody was too dumb to notice it wasn't you! We'd be amidst Death Eaters, and for much longer than an hour. It could be a week, or more, let alone the prospect of a month!"  
  
"You know, sometime, you're going to have to let me know what you're talking about." Draco said, he was very awkward in this whole situation. Especially about being in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"How about after lunch? I'm really hungry," Ron said, rubbing his stomach.  
  
"You're just hungry because you saw the other students leaving for lunch," Hermione grumbled.  
  
In the Great Hall at lunch, an infinite number of moans issued from Ron's mouth. "I can't believe I ever left Hogwarts! Their food is sooo good!" He said, his mouth stuffed with chicken.  
  
"It's just slave labor, that's all." Hermione was still in a bit of a bad mood.  
  
"Well, I don't see you starving yourself like you used to." Ron remarked.  
  
"One must have their nutrition if they're going to be staying up late into the night, researching Polyjuice potion." Ron and Draco rolled their eyes. After they were finished eating, they decided to just chat.  
  
"Well," started Ron, "I want to know what's going on with you. How've you been doing? Oh, and I'm sorry about the Krum thing. By the way, I noticed you still have your maiden name. Why's that?"  
  
"It was Viktor's idea to keep my own name. Plus, it flows much better than Hermione Krum. And about my life? You know everything that's going on in my life, it's boring."  
  
"Oh, come on? The bookworm, straight A student must have some fun! I mean you probably have a boyfriend, and boring family reunions, and a best friend, right?  
  
"Um, no. First, I haven't had a boyfriend since Viktor died. Seond, my family's very small and I'm an only child. Third, I just don't have a best friend."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Hmm."  
  
Ron looked at his watch, which, of course, didn't have any numbers on it. The hand for him was pointing to: procrastinating.  
  
"You guys, let's go get to work now. We're procrastinating."  
  
"Says who? We're catching up." Draco disdainfully reasoned.  
  
"My watch says so. Look." Draco and Hermione glanced at his watch, and sighed exasperatedly (A/N: that's a hard word to say). "Fine," he snapped.  
  
They stopped at the library to get some books, and headed off to Gryffindor Tower. When they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady in the pink dress, they realized that they didn't remember the password. "Um, balderdash?" Hermione guessed.  
  
"No, sorry dear."  
  
"Oh DARN!" Said Ron sarcastically," How about mangy cur?" He started laughing, and got a blank stare from Draco, and a patronizing one from Hermione.  
  
"No," the Fat Lady said sternly, "and if you're trying to sound like that lunatic of a painting Sir Cadogan, well, you're doing a good job of it. Ron stopped laughing.  
  
They waited at the painting for about five minutes, trying out different passwords (all of which failed), before a little 1st year came walking down the hall.  
  
All three stared with wide eyes, and open mouths at the girl, who was asking if they needed any help. The little girl was medium height, perhaps a bit taller than her fellow first years, with long bushy brown hair, freckles, and bright, deep blue eyes.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, may I help you and your friends?" She repeated, an edge of impatience in her voice as she spoke to Ron.  
  
"Um, yes. We need the password to the tower," Hermione said, getting over the shock of seeing someone who looked so much like her. Well, except for the height, eye color, and traces of freckles, of course.  
  
"You're a bit old to be in this school, aren't you? And all the teachers know the passwords. Well, at least Professor McGonagall does." She said Professor McGonagall with such reverence that they started to stare again.  
  
"Mmm, yes, well, Dumbledore said that we're-"  
  
"Professor, sir," she corrected him.  
  
"Right. PROFESSOR Dumbledore said that we're to be staying in Gryffindor Tower, we're his guests, and if you don't believe us, you may ask him, but we still must know the password." Draco said this with his arrogant and powerful expression, demanding to know the password.  
  
The girl looked him up and down with disgust that faintly resembled the same look Ron had the first time he saw Draco, and then said, "Fine. It's fairy lights." She scowled, and put her nose high in the air. The portrait opened, and she stomped in, closely followed by the three, who were laughing.  
  
"May I ask what your name is? What year are you in?" Hermione asked her.  
  
"I'm Augury, and I'm in first year. My big brother goes here, too. My five other brothers are not old enough yet. Anyway, my big brother's name is Nostradamus, Noss for short. He's a prefect! In fifth year. I hope I become a prefect! Professor McGonagall says that with my current grades, I'll be one without a doubt." She said all this very fast.  
  
"Oh, and do you do anything other than study?" Ron asked, grinning at Hermione.  
  
"Oh, yes! I'm already on the Quidditch team, isn't that great? They told me the last time that happened was when my uncle got to be seeker in his first year, except that I'm a beater. Also, I love playing Wizard's chess, it's so fun! And I'm really good at it, no one's beaten me yet!" She said this very fast, too, now with a look of excitement. Hermione smirked back at Ron.  
  
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to Transfiguration now. Don't want to be late on the first day back from vacation." Augury ran up the stairs to her dorm, ran back down with her bag, and dodged out the portrait hole. It took about five more minutes to get the common room empty again. They sat down and started looking through the books, taking notes, etc. It was a comfortable silence, until Draco broke it.  
  
"The Gryffindor Tower's much brighter than Slytherin, I must admit. Though, that doesn't mean I think Gryffindor is better in any way. It's kind of strange being here." The other two nodded, wanted to keep their attention on work. Suddenly, the portrait hole opened, and two boys walked in. "Jeez, my sister's annoying." One of them said, and continued in a high-pitched voice, "Noss, will you please get my broom for me? I have to do my homework!" He resumed his normal voice. "Well, she should get her own broom. I have homework, too, but I don't start working on it before practices. She needs to sort out her priorities."  
  
The other boy talked now. "Don't worry about it, Noss, I'll get the brooms. " He was older, maybe in seventh year. The one talking about his sister caught sight of the three non-teacher adults sitting by the fire.  
  
"Hey, I'm Noss, Gryffindor prefect. Are you guys here to apply for the DADA job? That one never seems to last long." They turned to him to answer his question, but stopped. He was tall, lanky, with bright red hair, no freckles to be seen, and chocolate-brown eyes.  
  
~Evyfleur 


	5. The Spy and the Escape (revised so it ha...

Chapter 5:The Spy and the Escape  
  
Disclaimer-Watch out, Warner Bros. My Mum' s the best lawyer. They're not my books, their Miss Jo Rowling's, I'm not taking credit, and if you don't believe me, I'll get my Mum to kick your bum.  
  
Ron stared at the boy named Noss for a second. Noss walked over to the staircase and yelled, "Hurry up, Dennis! We're gonna be late!"  
  
"We, uh, we met your little sister, and we're visiting Dumbledore, um, official Ministry business…" Ron trailed off.  
  
"Oh, well, don't tell her what I said before. She'll get all mad at me, and send an owl to Mum or something. Not to mention Dad. Man, he's got a temper." Noss put on a low, angry voice. "Don't you ever treat your sister like that again! She looks up to you! If you put one more toe out of line-" he stopped to laugh at this. "Anyway, what are you guys here for again? Ministry stuff? Is it some kind of inspection?"  
  
"Well… it's, uh, kind of, confidential stuff…if you know what I mean."  
  
The other boy staircase with the brooms in his hands and skidded to a halt. "Ron! Hermione! Er, Malfoy, right? It's Dennis Creevey, remember? Collin's a pal of Harry's!"  
  
He had dropped the broomsticks and hurried over to shake their hands, wearing an excited look. It was the same expression he wore after falling into the lake on his first day at Hogwarts. "Well, we better be off to quidditch practice! Nice to see you!"  
  
"Bye," they all said.  
  
"Okay, bye!" He yelled, and ran off. Hermione suspected that all three of them were thinking the same thing, or at least she thought, What's happening? Everything going on is extremely odd, and I don't get it.  
  
"Do you happen to have another brother, cousin, or other siblings that look so much like you?" Draco asked, obviously perplexed.  
  
"No, not that I know of anyway. But, but, uh, we should be working on our polyjuice potion plan. We need to find Harry." Ron tried to sound determined and noble, but it didn't work. He still sounded like he was distracted by that boy, Noss.  
  
"How about this? Let Draco and I handle it for a while. Why don't you visit Dobby and Winky? Then you can get us some supper, too. Okay? Then we all can get something done." Hermione said all this very fast, in a reasoning voice.  
  
Ron crinkled his brow, and thought for a second. "Er, alright then," he said, and headed out of the common room, muttering to himself about where the painting to the kitchen was.  
  
For about ten minutes, they worked quietly, until Draco broke the silence. "You know what this means, don't you Granger?" He smirked.  
  
"What what means? And why can't you just call me by my first name?" Hermione said exasperatedly.  
  
"I'll go in reverse order. If you must insist, then I will call you H- H- Herm-ione," he finally said, "and didn't you notice the children we just met? Augury! Just look at her name, not to mention the bushy brown hair, yet blue eyes, freckles, and height unlike yours. Then there's Noss, short for Nostradamus, who looks just like Ron, except for his eyes, which are deep brown, and the fact that he has no freckles. Don't you see it? Look in the mirror!"  
  
Hermione scowled, searching for a point that could contradict his. She couldn't find one. So she went for the overwhelmed-situation argument. It had always worked on Ron. Well, almost always. "I don't understand what wildly imaginative point you are trying to make, but I'm worried, all of us are, we're all under so much stress! It's hard! Plus, Ron has had the closest people to him taken away! Harry is his best friend, and I don't know if you've noticed, but Ginny is the closest person he has a relationship with! They are so loyal to each other, remember our second year? No, neither of us would. But I heard all about it! He was so worried. He's probably equally as concerned about his parents, or his brothers, or…or…"  
  
"Again, what you're saying just proves my point even more. And if you don't understand what I'm trying to say, then Snape is the Queen of England! ("Professor Snape," Hermione added, causing Draco to smirk.) You know what, I've thought of another person, to add to that list of Ron's worries, but since you deny it so much, and since I don't feel like being hexed out of the window at the moment, I'm not going to say any more. " He finished at this, his fair cheeks tinged with pink.  
  
Ron walked back into the room with a large plate of food, a jar of chilled pumpkin juice, and a genuine smile. He was definitely in a better mood than he'd been in before, and promptly asked, "So, what did you guys get done?" Both turned to him with innocent smiles on their faces. "Okay, what were you talking about?"  
  
"Oh, nothing, nothing at all. I'm hungry, are you hungry? I'm hungry."  
  
Ron sighed, and dropped the subject, realizing it wasn't going to go anywhere. "Well, anyway, Dobby's doing exceptionally well, and Winky's found her niche finally. I thought she would be dead by now, but there you are." He talked about the house-elves for a good fifteen minutes. While they were eating, the students were coming back from dinner. Ron was challenged by Augury to a chess game, which ended in a draw. It was a first for Ron. Hermione lectured and gave advice to a crowd of eager prefects, and Draco was telling tales of escaping muggles in helicopters on his broomstick.  
  
A bark resounded in the common room, and all heads turned to look at the big black dog, casually standing inside the portrait hole. Several people screamed and shouted, running to their dorms. "It's not the Grim!" Ron yelled, which caused everyone else to flee from the room. "Hmm. That got rid of them. Good job," said Draco, patting Ron on the back. The dog approached, and transformed into his human self. He then sat down in one of the squashy armchairs near the fire. He spent no time beating around the bush, and got right down to speaking.  
  
"Dumbledore and I have made a decision that will make things much easier for you." Black said, leaning forward in his chair, his hands clasped.  
  
"What?" They said together, but with different meanings. Draco seemed a little unconvinced, Hermione hopeful, and Ron incredulous.  
  
"Well, you'll have full control of Harry's case, still, but-"  
  
"But, what?" Ron asked, he sounded worried.  
  
"But we're going to find another group to take Ginny's case. Then you can concentrate your efforts on finding Harry."  
  
"Excuse me?! Do you mean to tell me that now I can't, I'm not allowed, to look for my own sister?" Ron was standing up, fire in his eyes and red in the face, gritting his teeth. Hermione got up, and took his arm. "Ron-" she began, but she was quickly interrupted by him. He shook her off. "Get away, 'Mione. It isn't fair! I should have the right to-"  
  
"Ron, listen to me! We all care about Ginny! But we can't look for both of them at the same time. This is a good, a better plan. Listen to him." Hermione was very firm. She was concerned about this situation, and she gave Ron a hug. Then she sat down again.  
  
"Fine," he said, "but we have to have full control of finding Harry. Full control." He forced.  
  
"Right. Thank you. Oh, and Dumbledore wanted me to let you know that he needs to see the three of you at nine o'clock tonight. I better go now, people are going to come back soon. The password to the gargoyle is Ice Mice, by the way. Bye!"  
  
And with that, Sirius turned back into the giant black dog, and started to leave. For a second he paused to sniff the air. He made up his mind, and trotted away.  
  
"Ughhh, it's not right. My poor sis."  
  
All of the sudden, Augury crawled out from behind one of the big armchairs and asked, "that wasn't the Sirius Black, was it?"  
  
All three stared at her with apparent shock, until Hermione gave her a smile, vaguely reminiscent of Professor McGonagall. "Yes, it was," she said, "but you have to keep that secret for us, okay? You see, he's not really guilty of what they say he is. He was framed. He's a very good friend of ours, and Harry Potter's godfather."  
  
"Really?! Wow! I didn't know that my uncle had such a cool godfather! Do you know my uncle? Why are my aunt and uncle missing? Do you know my aunt? Who really did what Sirius Black didn't do? How do you know Sirius Black didn't do it? Where is the guilty person? Are you going to catch them? Why are you going to find my uncle and not my aunt? Why is Sirius Black allowed to turn into a dog? Does Professor Dumbledore know everything?"  
  
"Augury, you know what you just did? That was very brave. Never stop being brave. And always ask questions. You're going to be a great witch someday. Don't forget that."  
  
"Okay, I won't," she said very happily, but seriously, too. (A/N: Not Siriusly! I'm a comedian! But seriously, folks.)  
  
They spent the next hour trying to explain everything to her. "Guys, it's quarter to nine, we'd better get going." Draco suggested, looking at his watch. "Yeah. We better. Augury, you might want to go to your dorm or something, we might take a while."  
  
She sighed, and gave a frustrated look similar to Ron's. "Alright, goodnight Hermione, goodnight Ron, goodnight Draco." She said, and gave them all hugs, before running up the stairs to her dorm. Draco looked slightly taken aback at being given a hug.  
  
They were walking down the corridors, when Ron said, "I need to let nature take its course, so, uh, I'll meet you at Dumbledore's office."  
  
"Okay," said Hermione and Draco. Ron started off toward the bathroom, and Hermione led the way down the stairs. She skipped the fourth step absentmindedly, since it had always been the magic disappearing step, it was second nature, and fell through the fifth step. "Aaaaaaaah!" She almost screamed, "I hate that trick step! It changed!" She turned around to see Draco massaging his forehead in pain and annoyance. She had shrieked into his ear, or close enough. He walked around, skipped over the step and held out his hand to pull her up. She gave him her hands and he pulled her out of the stair. They started walking down the stairs again, when Hermione's robe caught on the broken step, causing her to trip.  
  
Draco, employing his ever so mediocre seeking skills, caught her around the waist, before she could fall. Ron walked around the corner and froze, seeing Hermione in Draco's arms.  
  
"What are you doing?" He asked, stunned.  
  
"Oh, I tripped. The trick step changed, and I fell through. Then my robe caught on it, and Draco just caught me, so I didn't fall flat on my face. Thank you, Draco."  
  
Ron looked unconvinced. They approached Dumbledore's office, and saw him walking towards them.  
  
"There's been a change of plans," he said urgently, "I must know your decision tonight. You can't stay here any longer. Come with me…"  
  
They followed him to his office, and he cautiously closed the door behind them.  
  
"What's wrong, Professor?" Draco asked, surprisingly politely.  
  
"I'm sorry, for being so hasty, but we've received information that the Death Eaters know that you're here, and for all of us, I think it would be better if you go, and it would be good to hurry up and throw them off your trail. We also don't want to risk an attack on the school, especially not right after the Christmas Holidays. You can go to Mr. Remus Lupin's house, he's decided to take you in. It's not very safe to apparate, so you should probably travel the muggle way. Here's a map, and some money."  
  
"What about the Burrow, I mean, my house?" Ron said, anxiety clear on his face.  
  
"The Ministry has already sent a team to your house, "replied Dumbledore. Ron let out a sigh of relief. Hermione gave a worried sigh, and they all looked from one to another, depressedly.  
  
~Evyfleur 


	6. An Encounter With A Well-Known Werewolf

Chapter 6: An Encounter with A Well-Known Werewolf  
  
A/n: Thanks to all of you who reviewed for me! I'm so happy! I have a lot more reviews now. I'm so sorry about that last Chapter with the messed up paragraphs. That's what happens when you try to double space these things. It won't happen again. Another thing: about the two children, Augery and Noss, they aren't important to the story, they are just an apparition(with a lot of fallacies, but oh well) to help 'Mione and Ron on their way to marital bliss. Don't give them too much thought. Anyway, here's to all my reviewers:  
  
Yoo- thank you for reviewing and letting me know about that horrible mistake in my chapter! Please keep telling me what you think of my story!  
  
Mitzi- Thanks for reviewing! I'm happy that you think the plot is original, it's one of the things I strive for when I write fanfiction, please keep reviewing, and let me know what you think, thank you again!  
  
Mione Weasley- *bows deeply, and smiles widely* Thank you so much for your devoted and helpful reviews! They help me a lot when I'm writing. As you'll see at the top, Augery and Noss are just God's little helpers with bringing Ron and Hermione together, finally, so don't meditate on that point too much, I'm sorry about making it sound so important. Oops! But anyway, Dumbledore as the Secret-Keeper is an interesting idea, but just keep reading. Ah, the room! Keep that idea in your head for a few more chapters. *wink wink*  
  
Owl post 1992- Thanks for the nice review, and please continue reading!  
  
Margaleit- Oh, you have no idea. There are many chapters to come in this story, I hope you keep enjoying it, and please keep reviewing, I appreciate them a lot. Thanks! Marron04- Thank you for the review! Well, don't think too hard on Augery and Noss, but they do tell you some of the future, so what they say is relevant. But only to the future. This is going to be a Ron and Hermione romance, because I just can't see them with other people, the pair is too perfect, but please, keep reading and reviewing, because I love when people read what I write. If you have any flames, don't hesitate to throw them at me. Thank you very much!  
  
RainDancer- Thank you so much! I already have written you an email and stuff, but I'd like to thank you anyway, and I will send the next chapter to you very soon, I just had to get this one up.  
  
Anyana- here's the next chapter, I hope you like it! Please continue to read and review, lots of thanks!  
  
Bookworm2000-Here's what happens! And there are many chapters to come, but be patient! Thanks tons for the review!  
  
Disclaimer: A word to Warner Brothers- Harry Potter belongs to the great mind of J.K. Rowling, not to you. You're just enjoying the profit and power that you're getting from buying it away from her! Oh, and Lupin's house, and the plot, and good Draco, well, oh, nevermind. But they're mine!  
  
Everyone! I'd like to thank RainDancer for becoming my beta-reader! Yay!!! * loud applause and whistles are heard from the house* And here, is the next scene in our production! *bows, and leaves Center stage. The scarlet curtain opens, to show a dark wood, and three young characters walking through it carefully, quietly.  
  
Through the clouds, a spot of moonlight shone on the dark forest. Ron leading the way, they crept through the woods cautiously, but nervously. They had been nervous around this forest since their horrible detention when they were first-years in Hogwarts.  
  
Draco was last in line, jumping at small noises, including that of his own feet. He, of course, acted as though this wasn't true. In front of him was Hermione, she was very tired and trying to read a book on dangerous transfiguring potions while walking. She realized that this was very difficult, especially in a dark forest at night, so she put it away.  
  
There wasn't much to do except try to be quiet while walking through the forest, and think. Think about Harry, Ginny, Voldemort, Death Eaters, death, their dodgy plan, their safe houses (they thought about that more than once during the trip), and what they would do when they got to Lupin's house. Hermione trudged through the leaves, branches and brush, and gazed at Ron for a moment. He was glancing uneasily up at the sky. What's so important about the sky? She wondered, looking up, too.  
  
"Ron?" She asked.  
  
"I was just wondering if Lupin will be alright. I mean, the moon looks almost full, and-" "No, he'll be fine. The full moon's not until two days from now. If he needs help with the potion, I'll make some. It's not a big deal."  
  
"How do you people." Draco began.  
  
"Know what we're asking each other?" He finished for him. Draco nodded wanly, bewildered.  
  
"Well, I guess it comes with being friends. Hanging around them a lot, and knowing their personality, and the tone of their voice, like second nature, you can tell what they're going to ask," Hermione concluded.  
  
"There's the human textbook for you," said Ron, a laugh in his voice, which earned him a glare from her. But Draco hadn't noticed this; he was very pensive, almost sad.  
  
"Friends." he muttered under his breath. At this, Ron stopped, walked back to him, and looked him in the eye. "Friends." Ron said. There was a sense of certainty and finality in his voice that reminded Hermione of Mad- Eye Moody. He then smiled, and gave Draco a fake punch in the arm.  
  
"Can we rest here for a few minutes?"  
  
"Sure, 'Mione, but not too long. We gotta get to Lupin's place in two hours," replied Ron, looking at his watch. It didn't tell him that, but currently it was pointing to both traveling, and mortal peril.  
  
Hermione started a bluebell fire: her specialty. They sat down and warmed themselves. Draco asked to borrow the book she was reading before, and was soon absorbed in it. Hermione was rubbing her hands, and Ron caught her eye. His face was paler and a little more experienced than in school, now that she took a closer look. His hair was just as red, if not more vivid, yet cut in a much more flattering style on him, and he had more freckles than ever. But the biggest difference was his eyes. They had the same, bright, deep blue, and were just as playful and outgoing and fun. But there was something behind all that. His eyes were a door to his soul, more knowledged and responsible than in school, with a haunting whisper of darkness. A darkness that Hermione had only seen in one other person's eyes. Sirius Black. How similar they are, though, thought Hermione. A Potter's best friend, betrayed and taken away from them.  
  
She felt a surge of anger welling up in her, an anger that she realized that Ron had had for a long time. Voldemort. He was the cause of all of this. He tore family and friends apart, and ruined their lives. Just like he was doing to them. Forced to live in terror and regret, missing your loved ones. The whole thing, it's not fair! She thought, her rage boiling. She furrowed her brow, thinking of this. After a while, her anger died down to a numb, dull pain, accentuated by her hate and longing for justice.  
  
"'Mione?" Ron said uncertainly, seeing a new, strange, familiar darkness in her eyes, her brow furrowed as she stared into the fire. She looked up, a bit startled.  
  
"Hmmm?" she asked.  
  
"We should probably get going," he said, "are you alright? You look a little tired. I'm sorry about all this. We told you too fast. And then we found out about Ginny, and our job, the Death Eaters, and, well, I must've broken a mirror or something, because we don't seem to have the best luck, do we?"  
  
"I'm okay, it's alright. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep, like you said. Thanks, Ron," she said. Ron smiled, and the darkness in his eyes flickered for a moment. Hermione got up, gave Ron a knowing, sympathetic hug, and got her belongings together.  
  
After setting off, it took them about an hour and a half to get to the other edge of the forest. "Okay, the time has come for us to use Harry's faithful invisibility cloak," said Ron, taking it out of his bag gently, gingerly, as though it were made of glass. They covered themselves with it, and (very slowly) walked on.  
  
In the distance was a cozy-looking, two-story house. It had a white exterior, with light brown shutters. A dim light shined on the small, wooden front porch. When they got there, they briefly used the convenient, brass knocker on the door. After a moment, the door creaked open.  
  
"Come in, quickly please," they heard Lupin say. They stepped in, threw off the cloak, and Ron closed the door. "Ah, brave Ron," said Lupin, giving him a warm hug, then, "clever Hermione," He gave her a friendly hug, too. "Draco Malfoy, my new friend," he said, and smiled. He, again, gave a hug to Draco, and pulled back to look at them all.  
  
The age and fatigue was clear in his face. His hair was a bit grayer, and his robes were a bit shabbier. There were a few wrinkles in his should-be younger face, and he trembled a little. He led them to the living room, which was very neat and clean, with full bookcases on three walls, and a nice set of whitish-beige furniture in the center of the room. The trio left their things next to the door, and sat down on the couch, exhausted.  
  
"I'm sorry it's so dark, my phase is rather touchy right at this time of the month," he said. "Would you like some tea? I'll get you some. I've been wanting to talk to you. Then I can show you your rooms. I think you'll like them." He gave a terse smile, and hurried off to prepare the tea.  
  
Hermione yawned. which caused Ron to yawn., which caused Draco to yawn.  
  
About five minutes later, Lupin came back with a tray of teacups and a steaming pot of tea. "Thank you," said Hermione, as he handed her a cup. "Ahhh." said Ron, taking a gulp of tea. "Thanks," said Draco, awkwardly.  
  
"So, I've heard what happened. As Dumbledore has always said, it's a secret, so naturally, everyone knows about it. What do you plan to do?"  
  
Hermione took control of the conversation from here, because it looked as though Ron was going to bring up the Ginny thing again. "Er, we've found that Harry is under the Fidelius charm, so we're going to use polyjuice potion to find out who the secret-keeper is. Once we've done that, it'll be relatively easy."  
  
"Relatively," Draco quickly added.  
  
"Yes. And although we're not supposed to be working the Ginny case, we might be able to find some information pertaining to finding her in the meantime. What do you think?"  
  
"Ahhh, so you're going to beat them at their own game, are you?" He said with a chuckle. "I remember. Moody, Crouch, that is, pulled that off very well in your fourth year. I have only one piece of advice for you. Research the person that you are going to be impersonating (A/N: Impersonating! Haha, get it?). I mean know them backwards and forwards, so that you'd know what they would do in any situation."  
  
They nodded, thinking about this. Draco bit his lip. Ron smiled at Hermione and said, "I'm not drinking anything with Crabbe's toenails in it." Hermione gave a faint laugh. It was a little encouraging in the bleak situation to know that they could remember similar times from when they were only twelve. If they did it then, they could pull through now. But Draco spoke now, and may I add, being the narrator except for the clever Hermione, that it was in a very un-Draco-like manner.  
  
"Yeah, I've been thinking about how we could do that, and, uh, how about since I know my father so well, I can pose as him, Ron can substitute for Crabbe, really, and Hermione for Goyle?" He was very serious about this, Hermione could tell. How could he do that, though? It's his family! He.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, Draco," replied Hermione," but that would include capturing your own father. Are you sure you'd want to do that? I do agree, though. It's a great idea."  
  
"Hmmm. I don't know if you remember, but I have already told you what I think of my father. It wouldn't matter to me what we did. Truly," he added, as if for confirmation.  
  
"I say that if that's our best bet, then we should get on the train while it's still in the station. At least, that's what my Mum says," Ron added, his ears turning a bit pink.  
  
"Alright. Then I guess we could go ahead with that," said Hermione.  
  
"Deal, or plan I should say?" Draco asked.  
  
"Plan." Ron and Hermione said together.  
  
"Well, it seems that I have heard all I need to, and you three have come to an important decision, and that we all need a good night's rest. I'll show you where all of you can sleep." They were grateful for this, and just followed his lead.  
  
He helped with some of their belongings, and walked upstairs, followed by Ron and Hermione, and bringing up the rear, was once again Draco.  
  
The first room they came to was decorated in pale green. It was pretty big, and had a nice old leather armchair in the corner for reading. The next room was bright red, red walls, red carpet, red bed, even the furniture and curtains were red. There was a stack of games and old books in the corner. And the last room was mostly cozy, cobalt blue. It was pretty small, with a large window, and ripply curtains.  
  
"Okay, I'm going to go to bed now. These are your rooms. If you need anything, feel free to call for me."  
  
"Alright," they said.  
  
Immediately, Draco set to the green room, yawning and shutting the door. He shouted a muffled, "G'night!" Ron and Hermione nodded to each other in agreement. Contented, Ron took the red room, as Hermione took the blue one.  
  
After taking a shower, Hermione walked back into her room, in her periwinkle nightgown, and sat down in front of a large, oak desk. It had a beautiful mirror that she stared into, resting her head on her hand.  
  
She stared at her mirror-self, the long, kind-of-bushy, brown hair, chocolate eyes, and somewhat slender face of Hermione Granger. The nerd, the know-it-all, the prefect, and finally, the head-girl. She thought that if she had had those, she would be set in life. But, curiously, that's not what had happened. What's wrong with me? What's wrong with this whole world? Something is wrong somewhere, but I can't quite place it. I wish I could, but I don't know. There's too much to think about right now. I guess., she thought, before her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.  
  
"Just a second," she said, getting up, and walking to the door. When she opened it, she saw Ron in his undershirt and boxers (which were red and orange plaid), hands leaning on either side of the door, his face worried.  
  
"Come in," she said. He walked in, and started pacing, or as much as he could in such a small room. He finally satisfied himself with sitting on the bed. "Hermione?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you feel like there's something wrong going on here? Something untrustworthy? I wish I had a sneakoskope, or maybe a remembrall. I have that feeling, you know, like you get when lose something, or forget something. Nevermind, you wouldn't know that, you don't forget-"  
  
"Ron, stop rambling, I know what you mean, I've felt that feeling a lot, and I find what you said a bit offensive, but I have a bad feeling, too. There's something we're missing. Other than Harry and Ginny, of course. "  
  
"I didn't mean offense by what I said, it's just that you never seem to forget anything. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who's getting a strange feeling about this. Do you have any idea what it could be?"  
  
"No, I don't know right now, I can't put my finger on it. But why did you bother saying that remark if you didn't mean to offend me?"  
  
"Listen, 'Mione, I was rambling, you said so yourself! And I'm sorry, but I've been frustrated lately, and ughhh!" He trailed off, mumbling violently, some incoherent words.  
  
"What? Can't stand talking to me? Too painful? Too intelligent? Hmmm, what? Get out of my room, we can discuss it tomorrow," she almost shouted, shoving Ron out and closing the door. He banged on it in irritation and tried to yell through the closed door, "I just didn't want to fight with you anymore! I just, ughhh, "Mione, I'm sorry! Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? Can you hear me? I said I'm sorry! I'm sorry."  
  
He banged his back against the door, and said in a lower voice, "I'm sorry. Goodnight, Hermione."  
  
~Evyfleur 


	7. A Bittersweet Nightmare

Chapter 7: A Bittersweet Nightmare  
  
To all my faithful reviewers, I love you all! Thank you for putting up with my mediochre writing skills! I love sharing my stories, though. Here we are:  
  
Anyana: You are absitively posolutely right, I am going somewhere. Let's see what are old chum Draco decides to do, hmm? Thank you so much for the review!  
  
RainDancer- Thank you for the lovely review and great suggestion, I have already sent you the next chapter, and I would be happy to post them after you finish correcting them!  
  
Mitzi-Thanks for the wonderful review, I'm so happy you like my story! Here's the next chapter for your reading pleasure.  
  
Mione Weasley- You're definitely going to get your wish with this story, and I think you'll like the end of this chapter. I liked writing it, a lot. Keep thinking about the plot! You're heading in the right direction, but.well, you'll see! Thanks, and please keep reviewing!  
  
Marron04- The next chapter, and the opportunity for Ron to say the right things! Have fun reading, and thank you so much for the review!  
  
Devonny Stratton- Thank you for the review! I hope you enjoy this chapter, Ron and Hermione will make up. Don't worry about Lupin, he'll be fine.  
  
Please, keep reviewing, I enjoy reviews from everyone! Even flames! Though if this includes any Harry/Hermione shippers, you shouldn't have bothered reading it in the first place. Cheers!  
  
This chapter is devoted to my great, anime-obsessed, IMing friend, Brian, and my glamorous and oh-so-enormously talented Beta-Reader, Britney! The curtain lifts tonight on a breakfast table, where four very awkward people share their meal.  
  
Disclaimer: WB, don't sue me, I know you stupidly took it into your own hands to own these rights, I'm not selling anything of it, but it wasn't your idea!!! It was the wonderful, very smart JK Rowling!(unless she decides to bring Harry and Hermione together, I would burn all my books, then, but anyway) And by the way, I'm thinking of starting a petition against you! Just kidding! Scared you, didn't I?  
  
At breakfast the next morning, the situation was terrible. Ron and Hermione sat at opposite ends of the table, scowling at their food. Lupin and Draco looked uneasily at them, and then shared an anxious glance.  
  
Hermione felt as though she was in school again. But not in a good way. She felt almost exactly the way she had the morning after the Yule Ball, nervous and angry, yet still regretful. Why did I have to attack him like that? I know that he didn't mean it, and it was kind of a compliment. Why does this always happen? We start to get closer and talk to each other, and we get in some sort of fight. Every time. She stared across the table at Ron, and tried to decipher his thoughts. Although he was scowling, too, there was something much deeper in it. It was a sadness, and that ever- present loneliness, darkness. It seemed to pour out of his eyes with some invisible, desperate force. While thinking, Hermione picked at her food, and got lost in her thoughts.  
  
Noticing that Hermione was staring at him, Ron looked up. She was just picking at her food, and he had had five helpings already. Lupin saw this, too, and cleared his throat.  
  
"I guess I should tell you this now, you won't be able to stay here tonight. I really love having you, and would gladly let you move in, if it weren't for my, well, problem. I'm changing tonight and I don't want you to be in danger, and better safe than sorry. But there is someone who can take you." He said the last statement in some hesitance.  
  
At this, all three put down their silverware and turned to him, tired, weak, and annoyed. "Okay," Ron said, "where do we go now?" He was dreading the answer, obviously. Lupin looked sympathetic, bit his lip, and said, "Professor, professor Snape is taking some time from teaching for something else, too. He consented to let you stay with him."  
  
"Really?" Hermione asked, seriously hoping that he was trying to be funny. Draco paled a little bit, or at least went paler than he usually was . "I apologize. but I'm sure he can help you out a lot, with the polyjuice potion and the plan. As soon as I'm safe again I'll owl you to come back, also.  
  
They agreed, sighing heavily. "Well, it's a good thing I didn't unpack, isn't it?" Ron said, trying to brighten the dull situation.  
  
Hermione went back upstairs, and started packing, again. She was now going to have the worst part of her life, if I even live through this, she realized. The three of them were going to go live with their former worst teacher (except for Draco, of course). Then they had to take the form of Death Eaters, possibly facing Lord Voldemort, do horrible, illegal things, and then they'd have to find Harry, and continue to find Ginny afterward, not to mention that she was in an argument with Ron.  
  
There was a sharp tap at the door, and again, two times. " Come in," she said. Ron opened the door gently, came in, and closed it behind him. He was standing in an oddly formal way in front of Hermione, and rocked on his feet nervously. "Um, 'Mione, I just wanted to say sorry about everything, and I was wondering if you would forgive me and be my friend again." He sighed, and wrinkled his brow.  
  
"I know, I heard you last night, I didn't mean to chew you out, I just, you know, I'm stressed, and."  
  
"Yeah, but I wasn't just talking about last night. But, anyway," he held out his hand to Hermione, who tilted her head confusedly at what Ron had just said. "I really am sorry Hermione, it was wrong of me, I sincerely apologize, and I really need you to be, er," Hermione smiled when he said this. Now she knew what he was talking about, and though he had apologized before, this seemed more real, and she felt as though this was really needed, that they were friends. She shook his hand firmly. "Alright, then."  
  
"We'd better get going," he said, sounding a bit excited.  
  
"Yeah," said Hermione, feeling somehow as though this whole scenario was a lot better than she thought it was five minutes ago.  
  
He was smiling, and almost bumped his head into the door when he tried to leave. He laughed and said, "I closed the door, didn't I?" Then he opened the door and left. Hermione laughed, too. Oh, Ron, what would I do without you? We, I mean, of course. What would we do without you? Hermione continued to pack, but was interrupted by another knock on the door.  
  
"You don't need to knock every time you come in, Ron."  
  
"It's not Ron, it's Draco," he said, opening the door and coming in. "Oh, I'm sorry, Draco. What is it?"  
  
"I just wanted to know if you need help with any of your packing, oh, and here's your book back."  
  
Hermione took the book, and stuffed it into her suitcase, carefully, of course. "Oh, no, I'll manage. Why do you ask?"  
  
"I don't know, I just wanted to help out my friends. I'll go ask Ron if he needs any help," Draco said, happily, and then left to go find Ron.  
  
When everything was ready to go, they met downstairs. Lupin joined them, holding a small leather pouch in his hand. "I have something for you that I think might help you in your task. Each one defines each of you in its symbol, and its color defines how you're feeling. (Oh, mood necklaces, Hermione thought.) I had nine of them made, so that each of you will get three, the necklace of you, and one of each of your two friends. Here, Hermione," he said, and handed her three of the necklaces.  
  
One of them clearly was her, it was a thick book in the middle of the pendant, and around it was a gem, which glowed in an undefined color. The others were just like hers, only one of them was a knight chess piece, and the other was a lizard that looked at first glance as though it was a snake, but if you focused on it enough, it was a very handsome reptile. Hermione put all three of hers on, and her necklace, the one with a book on it, turned a cheerful blue color. Ron put his three on, and his necklace turned turquoise, meaning he was a bit more thoughtful and melancholy than happy, but calm enough. Then Draco put his on. It turned a fiery, tense orange. They looked questioningly at him. Hermione decided to change the subject, though.  
  
"Thank you so much, Professor!" she said, giving Lupin a big hug.  
  
"Oh, you don't have to call me that. I'm not a Professor anymore!"  
  
"You might as well be," said Ron, grinning, "thank you," he said, shaking his hand.  
  
"Yes, thank you," said Draco awkwardly, trying to smile. They said good- bye, and left once again, to go to Snape's house. Through the day, Hermione noticed that Draco's orange pendant was turning brighter and brighter, till it reached the point of being pastel, the beginnings of white.  
  
"Are you alright, Draco?" Ron asked. Apparently he had noticed it, too, and beat Hermione to asking him about it.  
  
"What? Oh, yes, of course. I'm fine. Can't wait to see my favorite professor!" He said, giving them a half-smile.  
  
Ron gave Hermione a "who-does-he-think-he's-kidding?" look, and she returned it. He walked a little slower, so that he was next to Hermione, a couple paces behind Draco, or just out of hearing range.  
  
"What's going on with him?" Ron muttered, not looking at her.  
  
"Don't ask me, but his necklace is acting up! What do you think it is?" "Well, have you noticed that he's been acting odd lately? I mean, he's stopped being sarcastic, he's asking if he can help with things! That's not Draco Malfoy. I don't know, but it seemed to start with the whole "friends" situation. When do you think was the last time he had true friends? "  
  
"I agree," she said," never. And he's overwhelmed that there are people who don't have a catch to being nice to him. Especially us, we used to be his worst enemies! But why is he scared?"  
  
"I guess we will have to find out/ Oh. And while we're talking about Draco, what really happened on the stairs? I promise I won't get mad." Ron gave her an innocent puppy face. "I already told you the truth Ron. Draco's a friend. He was helping me. Just like Harry would."  
  
"Really? Seriously?" Ron asked, still unconvinced.  
  
"Yes!" She said, and smiled at him with unbelief.  
  
"Alright. Okay, then," said Ron, and he started walking ahead again. Hermione looked down at the pendants again. Hers was bluish-purple, Draco's was getting whiter every second, and Ron's was an orangey-pink? Since when has Ron been in a pink mood? Hermione thought. She started thinking about the conversation they had just had. Then a question occurred to her. Why did I relate Draco to Harry? Why did I say "just like Harry would?" I could've said "just like would have" as easily as I said Harry, couldn't I? "Just like you would have." No that wouldn't be right.  
  
It was about seven O' Clock that night when they arrived at Professor Snape's house. It was a stark white house, with forest green shutters, and a large stone wall surrounding it protectively. It was a giant house. They walked through the open gate, and up to the door.  
  
Ron pulled the rope, which happened to be an old-fashioned doorbell. A loud dong resounded from deep inside the house. Snape opened the door solemnly.  
  
"Come in," he said, not cruelly as it would usually be, or sardonic, but very firm. They stepped in, cautiously, and placed their bags by the door, where the Professor indicated to put them. "So," he said, looking at all of them deeply, as though trying to figure out what they were thinking, especially Draco, for some odd reason. "You're looking for Mr. Potter. That's a very daring and dangerous mission for some who are as young and.inexperienced as you." This was old Snape. He was trying to intimidate them again. Ron and Hermione looked at each other and rolled their eyes.  
  
He led them to a simple, elegant dining room, where there was a nutritious, warm, wholesome meal waiting for them. "Oh, yes!" Ron exclaimed, he just couldn't control himself. "Supper!"  
  
"Oh, thank you, Professor Snape! How wonderful!" Hermione smiled, and her necklace became a dark, rich yellow. "You're welcome. You may tuck in, if you'd like." This sounded very un-Snape-ish when he said it; but then again, he was the one who had let them stay at his home and Dumbledore trusted him. Hermione thought that this was a rather good change for Professor Snape to be developing. "Draco, I need to discuss a, situation with you, if you'll excuse us," he said, quickly, and led Draco out of the room. He almost slammed the door behind them.  
  
They started to help themselves to the food, but stopped after a glance at each other's necklaces. Both Ron's and Hermione's were yellow and content, but Draco's was pure white. Immediately they ran to the door and struggled to hear the conversation through it.  
  
".who's side do you belong to, Mr. Malfoy? Ours or theirs?"  
  
" Well, Sir, I.I.I'm on, our side, of course."  
  
"You are? Are you sure? You weren't ever on, their, side, were you?" After this question was asked, there was an awkward, brief pause of silence.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why is that, Mr. Malfoy? Because you loathe Potter?"  
  
"But I don't any more! I mean, Sir, my father forced me to become, you know, and I was only half willing to, because I hated Potter, and Ron and Hermione."  
  
"Yet you are now on first-name terms with them, what happened? You never even referred to Crabbe and Goyle by their first names. "  
  
"They were only my official friends, Professor. My Death Eater friends. Ron and Hermione are my true friends, the first real friends I've ever had, really." "And they trust you? They must."  
  
But Ron and Hermione had stopped listening at this point.  
  
We trust him, but we're eavesdropping on his conversations. And he trusts us. This is very nice, oh, some friends we are. Now I feel horrible, Hermione thought, and went back to the table to eat her dinner. Ron vocalized what she had been thinking.  
  
"Bloody hell," he said, wrinkling his brow, and following Hermione back to the table, looking rather glum.  
  
"'Mione? I don't feel so good."  
  
"I know. I don't either."  
  
After dinner, time passed slowly, they started preparing the Polyjuice potion and sharing their plan with Professor Snape. The highlight of the evening was when they started preparing the potion, and it just so happened that Snape had pre-stewed lacewings, so the potion would be ready in two days, instead of a month.  
  
That night, Hermione didn't sleep well, she was tossing and turning for a long time. When she looked at her clocks, one said that it was two A.M., and the other informed her You Should Be Asleep. All of the sudden, she heard a soft whimper. Hermione brushed it away, reasoning that it was the wind playing tricks on her ears, and rolled over, trying to fall asleep. Then a minute later, she heard a yell.  
  
She sat up and looked at the necklaces. Draco's was a usual orange again, but Ron's was a pale green. Hermione shot out of bed, slid on her slippers, and hurried to his room. When she got there, his door was open, but the light was off.  
  
"Ron, can I come in?" She asked quietly, and Ron jerked awake.  
  
"What? 'Mione? Oh, come in." his voice was very deep, much lower than usual. He was now sitting in bed, with his hand and head resting on his knees, reminding Hermione of that statue of the man sitting and thinking.  
  
"What's wrong?" She didn't bother to turn the lights on, but sat next to him, beside the bed, and bit her lip anxiously.  
  
"Nightmare," he said roughly, and dragged his arm across his face. Oh, dear. Ron's crying. This must be something very serious.  
  
"I'm sorry," Hermione said, lamely. Oh, Hermione, do you know how idiotic you sound? She accused herself.  
  
"I, I.dreamed that Voldemort was murdering Harry, and making Ginny watch him die," he said, through reluctant sobs. "If Ginny ever had to see that, if I really ever had to see that, if Harry was murdered by him, I don't know 'Mione, I think we might both just die." He broke a few more sobs again, but tried as hard as he could to choke them back.  
  
Hermione moved and sat next to him on the bed. She engulfed him in a big hug, running her hands through his bright red hair. "Shh, don't worry Ron! You know that will never happen. We're going to find them, and together we'll kill Voldemort, and all those horrible Death Eaters. It will end up just like a fairytale where everybody good and true lives happily ever after." She comforted him ad best she could, and they just hugged for a few minutes, until Ron spoke.  
  
"I miss them, 'Mione. No, it isn't just that. A part of me is missing with them. They are so important to me. The most evil man in the world is holding my best friend and my poor little sister against their will. 'Mione, it's all up to us to get them back, and I know that I can't live without them. The only thing that really keeps me going on this is you; I don't know how I would survive if you weren't around to help me. But we are together, and that's all we need really, right? If we helped Harry get to the (Philosopher's) Sorcerer's Stone, then there isn't a doubt I have in the world that we'll help him defeat Voldemort. You are right, Hermione. Thank you."  
  
She just smiled, and hugged him a bit harder. "I'm gonna go to bed now, okay Ron? Will you be alright?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm good, I'm, I'm just fine."  
  
"Okay. Goodnight, then."  
  
"Goodnight, 'Mione."  
  
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and said thanks again with a small smile. Hermione went back to bed, and thought about the dream, but she wasn't bothered by it. It was only a dream. Just before she fell asleep, she looked over and saw that two of the pendants lying on the nightstand were a rosy pink.  
  
~Evyfleur 


	8. The Misjudged Plan

**Chapter 8**

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, as usual! I'd like to start by devoting this chapter as always to my beta-reader, Brittni the Omnipotent, and Brian, aka Spike Spiegal, yay!   So first off, to my great reviewers-**

            **Margleit- Thanks for reviewing! Haha, you find out a little later about Malfoy and Snapey's reaction to everything. It's coming soon! Also, thanks for the name of the statue; Hermione probably should have known that name, shouldn't she? *writes it down* Enjoy!**

            **CalorSolChica- Thank you so much for the review, I love good reviews! As to the necklaces, I don't really know what they mean either, so you'll just have to be on the same level of knowledge as the three who have them. Well, except that white is scared, that's all I can say. Keep reading! **

            **Demiguise- Hahaha! I love that joke! I actually got it from Lemony Snicket, but, anyway, thanks for the review, I love helping Ron out.**

            **Anyana- Hehe! You're right, of course, in my stories, Hermione never ends up with someone else! Thank you for reviewing, and don't worry too much about Draco, he's my guy. He's just gonna get a little worse, and it's better from there.**

            **Marron04-Thanks for the review, I agree! Ron and Hermione are meant for each other. Here's the next chapter for you, hope you like it!**

            **BengalPho- Hey, hey! You said talk to you, so I'm talking to you, I hope you like this chapter as much as the others, old man! Talk to ya later!**

            **Disclaimer: I'd like to make a very shocking announcement to the audience. It says here, that Evyfleur does not, in fact, own the rights to Harry Potter, and that she greatly appreciates and respects J.K. Rowling, the true author. However, she says, "If it's the last thing I do, Warner Brothers will _die." Hmm, curious. ~__Evyfleur    _**

_The Misjudged Plan_

_            The scarlet curtain is pulled back, revealing, yet again, a breakfast table. Draco is in deep discussion with his two friends, Ron and Hermione..._

            "Okay, this is what we're going to do," declared Draco, very seriously, over their light breakfast of cinnamon rolls and Earl Gray tea.

            "I know Malfoy Manor inside and out. We'll go in through this entrance here," he indicated with a quill, on a rough sketch of his house. "After we get in, assuming that goes well, we'll walk down to the Meeting Room in the East wing of the house. That's where I'll pretend to talk to my father. Every Wednesday he meets with Crabbe and Goyle to discuss the future of the Dark, er, Voldemort. While they're doing that, we can eavesdrop until they finish. Then, when they are leaving the Meeting Room, you two can stun them. I'll stun my father from behind. We'd better not forget the Polyjuice Potion"

            "You're alright with stunning your dad in the back? Wouldn't that feel a bit…betraying?" Ron questioned. Hermione knew that Ron was thinking that because if he were in the same situation, he'd never be able to do such a thing. 

            "Well, um, it's, it's all for the best, isn't it? I'll deal with it."

            "You'll be able to?" Hermione asked cautiously. Draco looked a little nervous.

            "Of course, I'll be fine," he snapped.

            "Okay, okay."

            They put on their cloaks, grabbed their wands, and stepped out the door, briefly saying good-bye to Professor Snape.

            "We'll be back in a few hours," called Ron. 

            "Hopefully," muttered Draco, nervously, under his breath.

            Ron and Hermione glanced at each other uncertainly when they heard this. Then they walked through the protective gateway in front of the Professor's house, and dissaparated. 

*****  

            They almost immediately apparated to what looked like a huge, steely mountain. It was, in fact, the Malfoy Manor. The light of the windows gleamed icily, and glared at passersby with cold darkness through the intimidating windows. The Manor was a castle in likeness, very tall and made of black stone, with three wings, and a few turrets and towers looking above the rest of the town. If this had been a ghost story, Malfoy Manor would have easily played the role of the haunted house on the cliff. The atmosphere of the home, if it could be called that, gave off a certain foreboding feeling. 

            Draco turned to face it with dread in his silver eyes. Ron and Hermione looked rather like idiots. Their mouths were hanging slightly ajar, and their eyes were wide with awe. They quickly realized this, however, and closed their mouths.

            "Well, let's go," Draco said, with more confidence in his voice than in his mind. Hermione cast a charm on her ears and Ron's ears, so that they would be able to hear much better than usual. They approached one of the enormous wing entrances, and tapped on the door very lightly. 

            A beautiful woman with platinum blonde hair opened the door slowly. She wasn't wearing the horrible face she had on during the Quidditch World Cup, which Hermione remembered well, but was smiling. Her face was a little wet from tears.

            "Draco, darling!" she cried, hugged him tightly, asking if he'd been alright, and expressing how much she'd missed her little boy. Draco's cheeks were tinged a bit pink at that. When Narcissa had let go of her son, she turned to Ron and Hermione, slightly confused.

            "Mum, this is Ron and Hermione. I need to talk to you. Ron, Hermione, you can leave your coats here, there's a sofa in the room there, you can relax for a bit." He gestured toward an adjacent room. His laid back nature admitted for him that he was happy to be home, and felt more comfortable.

            Hermione was a bit worried, though. "I thought we were supposed to be sneaking," she said to Ron under her breath. 

            Ron snickered lightly. "Don't ask me, 'Mione, he's a Malfoy. As a rule, things always have to be easier for Malfoys." He smiled slightly, and she smiled back. "That's true."

            They hung their coats on an expensive-looking, well-crafted, wooden coat rack, and sat down on the formal couch, as Draco and Narcissa left the room to talk in a more private area. Ron scowled at this, as though he was deep in thought.

            "This could be a trap," he said, looking after them. "You know, it happens all the time during chess. You think you have a good strategy going for you, and as soon as you attack, when everything seems to be perfect, the least expected piece will deceive you, and take you out of the game. What do you think, 'Mione? Reckon he's still on our side? He could have been a very good storyteller for Snape."

            Hermione realized Ron was right. It was his house. It would be so easy for him to just…she thought of what he had said to Snape. Did he mean it? He sounded very earnest, loyal, and trustworthy, but then again, she wondered if Wormtail had sounded the same. "I don't know, Ron. The only advice I can give is to keep an eye on his necklace."

            Reflexively, they both looked down at the necklaces. Draco's seemed to be a light blue. Whispers of what he and his mother were saying drifted to their charmed ears from the other room. 

            _"You have to, Mum, it's the only way…but you know your father would never do that, Draco…I don't care! I have to do this, to keep you safe…I'm only doing this to get away from, from, Him, Draco, you know that I…What?! He's not here, is He?…your father never tells me if…"_

_            Ron and Hermione exchanged desperate glances with each other, before Narcissa strode gracefully into the room where they were, grabbing her jacket, hat, purse, and gloves. Draco followed briskly behind her. They embraced with a strong family love for each other, and Draco kissed his mother on the cheek. They whispered goodbye, and Narcissa stepped out the door, leaving the Malfoy Manor forever._

            "What was-?" 

            "I'll explain later, Ron. Let's go," Draco said impatiently, his eyes alive with anxiety and fear. He led them down the hall, quickly, leaving Ron and Hermione to follow him. Hermione was confused._ What was that about? Who is Him supposed to be? Why did Narcissa leave? Draco seems so anxious, I hope he's still on our side, she thought.___

_            This wing of the Manor was very homey, actually, Hermione noticed fleetingly. There were beautiful floral designs and decorations in rich, lively colors. Everything looked chic and comfortable, fashionable for witches' tastes. Obviously, this was Narcissa's part of the mansion._

            They then passed into a deep hall that reached far back into the house. Here everything was simplistic and classy; including a few pictures here and there, some wooden desks and bookcases, and earth-toned, leather furniture. It was very sleek. Draco didn't go far into this section, which happened to be his, but moved on to the third wing. It was as dark as the outside had appeared in this part of the Manor. Its colors were severe and bleak at the same time. It had obtrusive furniture, and was colder than where they had been before. But what disturbed Ron and Hermione the most, were that there were many ancient and modern torture devices hanging all over the walls, and sitting on the rotting tables. There were pictures of ghosts, lost souls, and demons hovering along the hallway, looking exceptionally menacing. Those pictures stared frighteningly at them, and some even gestured to stay away from the place they had already trespassed into.

            Voices eerily echoed through the halls, they were travelling from a room down the hall, where Draco finally halted. 

            "Ready?" he asked, his face etched with dread.

            "We are, yes. Are you ready, though? Something's wrong." Hermione looked at him, concerned.

            "I'm fine. Nervous…that's all, I'm just nervous." He was bordering on sounding like his old self, the one who was always mean.

            "Okay."

            Draco's necklace was white, pure white. He stepped into the room, gritting his teeth, and Ron and Hermione pressed their ears against the wall to eavesdrop, that was in fact, the motive behind putting spells on their ears.

            Lucius had apparently seen his son, and said, "Wait, Draco. We will let you speak when _we are ready. This is more important." He was so cruel to his son. There was some low muttering and whispering made by the people already in the room, and the sound of wine being poured into goblets. There were two small 'thank you's,' but they were quickly quieted again. This silent talking, it seemed, went on for a while, until Lucius spoke loudly enough for Ron and Hermione to hear him again. "Fine. Go ahead." _

            They now heard Draco, his voice sounding muffled like the others' voices, but shaky. "Father, friends, m-My…Lord," he said, and paused with what sounded half-awkward, half-reverent. Ron and Hermione clutched the bottles of Polyjuice potion tightly inside of their robes. "I'm honored to see you again," he continued. 

            "Draco Malfoy. I'm very interested to know if some rather vile rumors are true of you," a strangely high-pitched voice interrupted. _It sounds so cold. _

            "What… rumors…would those be, Sir?"

            The harsh, cold, man's voice laughed evilly. "It seems that you have betrayed us, and gone to the side of Dumbledore and the Ministry. Is this true?" His voice had changed abruptly from being amused to being deadly.

            "N-no, Sir! I should hope it isn't! In, in, in fact, Sir, I, I have some, erm, some news." There was a faint sound of scribbling on a piece of paper. 

            "Very good," said the Dark Lord. They started to talk in whispers again, and there was the sound of chairs being scraped across the floor. Then the room was silent. 

            Ron backed away from the door, his wand held ready. Hermione kept listening, but kept her hand on her wand. She had forgotten her potion in the heat of the moment.

            "'Mione! Get away from there," Ron said hoarsely, looking at her pleadingly. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

            But Hermione stayed there a second too long. A different door in the hall flew open, and Voldemort (looking rather healthy for what he was; powerful and terrible), along with his now four Death Eaters barged into the corridor. 

            Ron threw himself at Hermione, and held her close, shielding her just as Voldemort sent the Cruciatus curse towards her. Everything was a bit slower than usual after that. There was a flash of green light, and Hermione had to watch as her Ron fell to the ancient stone floor in pain. He was silent, though the effects of the curse were obvious, he lay there, writhing and his eyes were wide in shock.  

            She herself immediately started aiming as many hexes and curses as she could toward any of them. Someone said 'Stupefy', and she slumped to the floor, unable to move. Everything went black. She heard a yell, and then nothing. A few minutes later, she started slipping in and out of consciousness, she was being carried somewhere. All faded into nothingness again.

            Hermione woke up later, in darkness and pain. She smelled stone, dirt, mildew, and blood. The scents were all mingling, and smelled disgusting, making Hermione ill to her stomach. Not that she could be. They must have been there for several hours, at least, because she felt as though she was starved, she was so empty. She could hardly move from the bruises and fatigue. 

            "Help," she whispered, somewhat to herself, and somewhat to anyone who could also be in the same room. No one answered. It wasn't the most pleasant thing, but Hermione resolved that she should probably feel around the room, or wherever she was, for a door, or perhaps something to eat or drink. Getting up made her feel dizzy, but she forced herself to do so anyway. The walls were made of stone, and some of them were moss-covered. There were some rusted shackles, and a brick was on the floor in the corner.

            That was it, until…she stepped on something warm, and shouted in shock.

            "What?! Aaaaaah, bloody hell!" 

            "Ron?"

            "'Mione?"

            "You're here! Why didn't you answer me?"

            "Answer you? Well, if I'm not mistaken, and I very well could be, I think I was asleep. And you just had to wake me up and make me hit my head again! It already hurts."

            "That's all you can think about? Your stupid head? At a time like this!" she lectured him, exasperatedly.

            "I'm sorry, alright? I happen to be in a lot of pain at the moment."

            "Well, where are you?"

"Right here." 

She stumbled over to her left a bit, and then to her right, to where he was sitting. She gave him a hug, and sitting down beside him, looked for the bump on his head. She felt his hair, and there was a bandage already about his head. She felt around the bandage, until she came to a warm spot, between his forehead and ear. She looked at her hand. She could hardly see it, but there was a dark red spot where she had put her hand. 

"Oh Ron, your head. It's bleeding."

"It is?" He happened to find where her hand was, and put his hand there, too. "You're right," he said dejectedly, and paused to think. "What a betraying piece of filth! That -" Ron let out a string of swear words so colorful, Hermione felt her cheeks go red and her jaw drop.

"Ron! I have never-" But she was interrupted suddenly, as Draco Malfoy, and some kind of servant showed up in the room.

"And how did you get here?" Hermione asked, torn between confusion and anger. 

"It was a Portkey, mudblood," Malfoy said, smirking in his former villainous way, with that familiar, old drawl. "I thought that _you of all people would have known that." _

At this remark, Ron stepped forward angrily, swaying a bit from the wound in his head. "Don't you ever talk to my 'Mione like that again. You're a damn traitor, and for all we care, you can go to hell." 

Malfoy snickered obviously, and smirked again. "What did I say, Weasley? That she was an idiot mudblood? I'm only stating facts." 

Ron turned an angry, red hue, and attacked Malfoy, punching him in the face. Malfoy tried to hit him back, but Ron went at him again. Soon it was an all-out fistfight; they were slamming into walls, hitting each other violently and ferociously. Then, after the tiniest bit of hesitation, Malfoy stepped back and stopped fighting with Ron. He pulled out his wand, and pointed it steadily at Hermione. "Stop," he said solemnly to Ron. "Or I'll do it, you know I will." 

Although this sounded more like Draco than he was acting lately, being a traitor and all, Hermione shuddered with fear, under the tip of Malfoy's wand. She watched the wand earnestly, hoping he would go. Ron shot dagger eyes at Malfoy, and stood in front of the wand, blocking Hermione from him. He didn't even bother to say anything. 

Malfoy sighed with relief, and left. The servant left with him also, but had set a tray of food on the dank floor of the cell. The room was dark once again. Ron staggered to the floor, and fell. He swore under his breath, coughing up a bit of blood, but stopped when he saw Hermione looking at him. Hermione wanted to see what more damage had been done during that fight. She once again settled herself near him, and looked at his face. 

Ron's eye was swelling, his nose was bleeding, and a nasty bruise was becoming evident on his leg. She couldn't tell what was from earlier in the day, or what was from the fight. She took out a clean, white handkerchief, and wiped Ron's mouth of the blood he had coughed up. Then she dipped it the glass of water on the food tray, and mopped his face up of all the dirt, blood, and grime. 

"Oh, Ron," she sighed worriedly, "why do you have to have such a horrible temper?" She ran a clean hand through his red hair, and brought over the food. 

"Don't eat that food, Mione. It could be poisoned." 

"Alright, if you insist." She didn't touch the food, though she was about to faint from hunger.

"This is all my fault. I didn't stop when my instinct told me to, and I didn't keep an eye on his necklace like I should have done. I can't believe how idiotic I was. To think a Malfoy could actually be good. I can't believe this. We're going to die." He vented with very frustrated gestures, his eyes were narrowed, and his hands clenched.

"No we aren't, Ron. And you know perfectly well that this is just as much my fault as it is yours. I thought we were friends, too. Something isn't right about that. And…I was wondering about something. Thank you so much for blocking that terrible Cruciatus curse for me. Erm, I wanted to know, were you only stuttering, or…or did you say, my… 'Mione, when you got mad at Malfoy?"

"'Mione, I would always do that for you. There's no reason to thank me. But, I was trying to figure out the answer to your later question myself. Ask me again sometime, alright?" He smiled wanly at her.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"What was it like? I mean, what did it feel like?"

"What?"

"The curse."

"I know. I just don't know how to…to describe it in words." He took a moment to think about it, and said, "I couldn't feel it. I mean, I knew the pain and everything, but I felt sort of numb. If I was really feeling it, I think it could be described as kind of being burned badly. But also as if a thousand knives are stabbing you to the heart. But I didn't really _feel it, that's the thing. It was like my mind couldn't understand it. Determination or something, if you take my meaning."_

Hermione just stared at Ron's face. It was blackened in the shadows, but his eyes were as luminous, as bright and amazing as they always were. 

"We have to get out of here," she said. "Now. We need to get out now. Harry needs to be here. It's about to happen, Ron. It will happen, very soon. I don't know, but I can feel it. Like when it's about to rain. This is the calm before the storm. Hang in there, Ron. We can make it."

"I thought fourth year was hard," he said, before falling asleep in Hermione's lap. Hermione looked down on him with respect. She rarely ever thought of him to be worthy of respect. _I'm so exhausted. This is all so hard. I think Ron will last longer than I will, but I know it will happen. We will get out of here. It will happen. Oh, I hope so. It's all too dark here, but not the room, the life. We need to find a way out of this place, this time. She ran her hand silently through Ron's bright red hair. _

She took  his hand and closed her eyes. It seemed almost instantly, though it couldn't have been, for Hermione had been asleep. She woke up to light spreading through the cell. It was Malfoy again, but by himself this time. In his hands, he held their cloaks, and their wands.

~_Evyfleur___


	9. A Reconciling Rescue

**Chapter 9**

**Author's Note: Sorry, everyone, if you all are terrified of me now, about Draco and whatnot, but it had to happen sometime, and it's just the way I wrote it. But here's the next chapter, and I hope you all like it this time. *Sniffles* I only got three reviews from you all this chapter, please, please review for me. Otherwise, I doubt I'll post much more…**

**Marron04: Here is the final diagnosis, Draco is…well, you'll just have to read it! I'm glad you love my story! Thank you for your great reviews, and please continue to review, I love it.**

**Margaleit****: Sorry to confuse you about Draco, but thank you, it was an attempt at twistiness. Hope you like this chapter, and thank you for the review!**

**Hermione**** Weasley: I'm so happy about your review, thank you, I think it's awesome that you're Portugese! About Augery, you are absolutely right, and you will see why later in the story. J8st give Draco a chance, especially after this chapter, he won't let you down! Have fun reading!**

**Disclaimer: I'm so glad I don't own this; otherwise millions of people would be waiting for me to write the next Harry Potter book and I would be very much under pressure, I do, however, wish that I owned the blood of Warner Brothers. I will, so help me Godric!**

**_ Chapter 9: A Reconciling Rescue…_**

_The heavy red curtain is pulled away unsteadily, to show a dark, damp cell, and the shocked expressions of three former friends sends fear to the audience's spines. What has happened? It begins here…_

Malfoy stood there for a moment, silently. If possible, his hair seemed lighter than usual. His face was as pale as a ghost, and his gray eyes were wide in what seemed to be shock. Ron suddenly lunged forward at him, easily pinning him to the wall. Malfoy dropped all the things he was holding, and succumbed to Ron's attack. Hermione retrieved their wands, and pointed hers at Malfoy.

            "We have to get out," he muttered, "Now. We can go. Everything's done."

            They both stared at him for a moment, "What do you mean, 'everything'?" Hermione asked, her voice no more than a whisper.

            "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I, I, I g-got scared. But our plan. I've figured it out, I know where Harry is." At this, Hermione gasped in shock, and she heard a sharp intake of breath by Ron, too. She saw him tighten his grip on Malfoy's robes, and furrowed his brow angrily.

            "Why should we trust you?" he said, looking him up and down like a piece of dirt. The way he used to look at Malfoy when they were in school. He looked terrified, back at him. There was something more to that, than just Ron's rage at him.

            "I, I, I b-brought y-your wands b-back," he said miserably, trying to loosen Ron's hand with one of his, and pointing at Hermione's wand, which was pointed straight back at him, with the other. Ron looked back at Hermione warily, as if asking her if he should let go. Hermione hesitated, but nodded. So Ron let him crumple to the ground, and stood back, next to Hermione, his arms crossed.

            "Alright then," he said, as if he was testing Malfoy, "where is he?" 

            "In his room," was Malfoy's quiet answer.

            "What do you mean, in his room?" Hermione asked, looking at Malfoy curiously.

            "O, I-I, I'll explain l-later if I have to. The portkey is leaving soon!" He picked up the brick, and held it out to them, shakily. Ron and Hermione instinctively took out their wands, to be ready, and touched the brick. They stood there for a few moments, looking at each other apprehensively, nothing happening. Ron was just opening his mouth to say something, when they were pulled away with all of their belongings, a familiar tugging at each of their navels.

            The three of them ended up in a very small room, with a door on the right and one on the left. There were the sounds of voices coming from the left room, so they hastily dodged through the right door. Once they were out of the Malfoy Manor, Draco and Hermione began to run towards the outside gate. It was very dark outside, Hermione noticed, as they ran.

            "Wait, please! Wait!" Ron called from far behind them; he was trying to keep up with being dizzy; his head was wounded, she had almost forgotten. Hermione halted, and ran back to help him. Draco hesitated, and then turned back also.

            The two of them acted as Ron's crutches, and as soon as they got outside of the gates, they Apparated back to Snape's house. They had to drag Ron inside; he had lost consciousness when he had Apparated. He had used too much of his remaining strength. They laid him on the couch, gently, and Draco went to go get the Professor. 

            "What happened? _Accio__! I had to contact Dumbledore, do you know what time it is? __Accio__! Well?" He looked more pale and sallow than ever, his greasy black hair flew everywhere as he talked to them, while mixing different ingredients he was summoning into the room.  "It's three in the morning." Draco said guiltily, glancing at his watch. _

            "Yes. Three," Snape replied, his dark eyes full of rage and worry. Draco now looked down at his feet, his expression the same as it had been when he came to rescue them from his own trap: shocked, and fearful. 

            "It's my fault, Professor," Draco finally said, daring to look up. "When we arrived, the Dark L-lord was there, I mean, V-Voldemort. You know I wasn't lying, but I just, I panicked sir! And I turned them over. I thought he was going to kill me. I'm so sorry," he said, turning to Hermione, and holding out his hands. "I didn't mean to hurt you, or follow him. I turned away from being a Death Eater, really. It's just, he was right there, and he's so powerful, so terrible." He shut his eyes tightly in regret. 

When Draco had said this, Snape's head shot up from trying to mend Ron's wound and he ennervated him angrily. As he shoved a cup of freshly brewed potion into Ron's weary hand, it appeared he was about to say something, but Draco cut him off. "But I found him! I found out where Harry is, and we don't even have to worry…about- about my father, or Crabbe or Goyle anymore."

"What do you mean by that?" Ron asked, his brow furrowed, and he drank down the potion, a sour expression on his face. He didn't seem quite ready to accept what Draco had to say.

"I slipped Veritaserum into their goblets when I was pouring their wine. I must confess, sir, I took it from you." Snape looked ready to pounce, but Ron made a hurt noise to stop him. _Maybe he'll give Draco a chance after all, Hermione thought, raising her eyebrows ever so slightly. So far, the story checked out. She remembered hearing him pour the wine into their glasses when he had first walked into the room._

Draco was speaking monotonously. He had that sort of sound in his voice ever since he had gotten them out of the cell. "After you two were taken away to the cell, we returned to the meeting room, and they congratulated me on my good work. I was already feeling bad about it, so I asked the Dark Lord, Voldemort, how he had possibly created such a grand plan. -"

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

****

**_…Flashback…_**

****

Draco gulped, he might as well do it now. "I must ask, sir, how did you do it? It was wonderful, sir. The capture of Harry Potter!"

Voldemort took a sip of wine from his goblet, and laughed coldly. "It wasn't easy. But I remembered; that hideous spell that kept me from finding the Potters for all that time, could turn itself against them, and work for me instead. Oh, they will be quite surprised when I finally tell them he was in his bedroom the whole time. And they've searched the house over and over!" He cackled again, and looked at Draco, but his evil grin suddenly fell, and he noticed the others around the table looked at their Dark Lord in confusion. 

"You mangy little betrayer! You- kill him! Kill his friends, too! It was all a plan, a plan to get me, but it won't work, oh no," he said, standing, looking at Draco Malfoy in bitter contempt and rage. "I'm going to sort this out, and I want them dead before I get back! No one will conquer Lord Voldemort!" He pulled on his cloak, with the help of Lucius Malfoy, and stormed out of the room.

Immediately Draco backed away toward another door, fearing for his life, but more for Ron and Hermione. They were worth so much more than he was. 

Lucius rounded on him. 

"My son, I never thought you would go this far. I've told you again and again to obey me, or this was what would happen. But you have never listened. Now I can't take back my word, it's his command. And I agree with him, you should have never betrayed us," Lucius took a tight hold on his son's collar, and lifted him into the air. They were all pointing their wands at him, saying the words. _"No!" Draco had tried to say. He struggled and kicked him as hard as possible, and having got his father in the stomach, Lucius turned to clutch his gut and let go of Draco; Draco crumpled to the floor under his father's weight. _

When they had cast the curse, Draco had stopped his father from completing it, but Crabbe and Goyle had still finished it, and the curse (_Unforgivable, as usually the case was with Death Eaters) hit Lucius, killing him before he even fell. Draco's breath had caught in his chest. His Father was dead. And now the others were advancing on him, seeming not to care what had happened.  He slid out from under Lucius's dead weight, and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He didn't have any time to cast the spell to open it before they got him, so he turned back around to face them. _

Crabbe had been first to attack, and Draco had blocked it well, but then Goyle started fighting without his wand, punching him, slamming him against the wall, they both laughed cruelly. Draco couldn't take any more. He held up his wand with a free hand, and employed his former Death Eater skills to defend himself, and he murdered his opponents. They hadn't cared about his father, though. And he was angry, very angry. And now Crabbe and Goyle lay dead, next to his Father, slain by his own hand. Shaking, his wand fell to the floor with a loud clatter, and Draco fell against the wall, and sank to his knees. 

He crawled over to his father, and cradled the dead body in his arms. "I'm so sorry," he said, hugging the cold man, "I'm so sorry." Tears, things he very rarely let show, now streamed down his face, as he sat stunned, looking at his Father. 

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

**_…End Flashback…_**

"I buried all three of them outside in the family cemetery, before cleaning myself up and going to get you," Draco finished, sitting down heavily on the couch and putting his head in his hands.

Hermione looked at him with pity, and kneeled down beside him, rubbing his back in a sisterly way. "It's alright," she said, her own eyes stinging unwantedly. "You saved us, didn't you? It was, they, they just, oh Draco, don't worry. It will all be alright."

"You did the only thing your instinct would let you do, and in my mind it was right. Just think, they wouldn't have just killed all of us, but as many more as Voldemort would have wanted them to. You were only defending yourself," Ron added, trying to make Draco feel better, but his own words sounded blunt and unemotional to him. 

They fell silent for a moment, and Snape looked seriously at the man who was undone, sitting on the couch with helplessness so evident in him. He stood up and left abruptly. An owl needed to be sent to Dumbledore. Hermione spoke now, finally asking something that had been clawing at her since they escaped from the Manor.

"What did you mean, when you said that Harry was in his room?" 

Draco looked at her, half sadly, half almost amused. "Do you remember when we went to Harry's house, to search for hints as to where he was?"

"Of course. We got to the one room that was really clean, and we found the first lead. The letter."

"Exactly. It was the beginning and the end. It was the same place. He could see us! He could have been sitting right next to us, and he couldn't do anything to divulge the secret. The solution is that he's in his room. So, the reason it was so clean, is because he could clean it, live comfortably in it, but not whenever anyone was there, or watching."

"So that's it? That's the answer?" 

"Yes."

"Well, then? What are we waiting for? We have to go get Harry! We've found him! And then we can find Ginny, too!  Come on, let's go!" Ron stood up quickly, but swayed and grabbed the arm of a chair near him, so as to steady himself.

"Not yet, Ron!" Hermione said, making Ron sit back down. "Your head won't be better for another hour!"

"And you can wait?" He said, pleading to her.

"Hardly. But if you don't want to be unconscious again, and a mangled wound, I suggest we try to wait!"

"Fine, 'Mione. Have it your way. As always." He crossed his arms over his chest and began to tap his foot impatiently, looking at his watch every seven seconds.

Snape surprisingly made tea for them, and they carefully discussed what had happened at Malfoy Manor. Ron's tea was shaking while he held it, causing a continual clinking noise. 

~_Evyfleur___


	10. In His Room

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: Hi, my name is Evyfleur, and I have a problem. I don't own the rights to Harry Potter, they belong to J.K. Rowling, but I'm a little bit homicidal, and, um, WARNER BROTHERS MUST DIE!!!! …Ahem. That's why I'm at group now. They said this would help, but you guys understand, right? I'm not insane, am I? *Silence* "Fine. Don't believe me."**

**Author's Note: Hi everyone, I'm finally back! I'm sorry for the terrible delay, but I was away in the Smoky Mountains, camping for a week. I felt really disconnected, but I'm back now! Yay! I'm happy for the reviews I got from you, they were very nice, and very…well, how do you say it? Expectant! So here's the long-awaited chapter for you. Say, do you think I'll have to change the name of my story after this??? *grins evilly***

**Hermione**** Weasley: Nooo!!! Don't get ill! You're one of my best reviewers, you can't! Here's the next chapter, I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long! How do you think I write for Harry? Is he good, bad, shall I make adjustments? As always, thanks for reviewing!!! By the way, I hope you like the last few paragraphs.**

**Devonny**** Stratton: Hehe! Yay, I have a fellow supporter. Here's to end your suspense finally, I don't how much you'll like this chapter, but here you go, I think you'll like the last bit, I had fun writing it. Thanks for the review!**

**Hox****: Hahaha! I'm so glad you like my story, here's another chapter for you to read, have lots of fun! Constructive criticism is allowed! Thanks for the awesome reviews.**

**Marron****: Yay! I'm happy you liked it! Hopefully this chapter will be just as good. Thanks for the review!******

_In His Room_

_A solemn, burgundy curtain is lifted, to show the three friends, and an agitated Professor, having a conversation about the recent events which took place in Malfoy Manor…_

"So what did Voldemort do after he left the room?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," said Draco shortly, taking a sip of his tea.

"But that could mean he…"Hermione trailed off, her eyes now showing worry. 

"Which means that we have to get Harry right away and get him out of there. He's not going to-"Ron said, but was interrupted by Draco.

"You're right. He wouldn't dare leave Harry there after the charm was lifted. It would be his downfall."

"But, Ron, your -"

"I don't care about my bloody head! I'd rather me unconscious for a while with Harry alive, by my side, than a clear mind and Harry dead! We have to get him! Now." He set his tea down, and got up determinedly. Clutching his head, he swayed once again, but quickly regained his balance. He made his way slowly over to the fireplace, his necklace a bright orange, which seemed to match his hair. 

"Professor, do you have any Floo Powder?"

Snape looked taken aback at the way Ron had asked him the question. "I do, Mr. Weasley," he responded, as though he was really saying, 'Yes, but if you talk to me like that again you won't be using any of it!'. Ron got a more innocent expression on his face and said, "Professor, sir, would you mind if e borrowed just enough to get to Harry's house?" 

Snape left the room, grumbling, and returned, carrying a small black bag. Ron took it eagerly, and threw a fistful into the fire. Giving the bag to Hermione, he stepped into the emerald flames, and yelled, "Potter's House!" He disappeared.

Once all three of them had arrived, they rushed upstairs and into Harry's room. Harry looked up at them sadly. They smiled at him. He looked confused.

"D'you really think we'd just let you go missing, old chap?" Ron said, grinning ear to ear. "Hey Harry," Hermione added. 

He looked at them as if it were a dream come true. "YOU FOUND ME!" he yelled, running to them. He hugged Hermione first, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek as though she was his sister. Then he and Ron hugged, like brothers, who hadn't seen each other in a long while. Hermione gave Ron a smile and a wink, and for a moment, that darkness, ever present in his eyes, vanished, and he winked back at her. They broke apart, and Harry looked at Draco curiously.

"Why are you here? I thought you, did you…" Harry, stuttered, talking to Draco. He nodded, and held out his hand for Harry to shake in friendship. Harry laughed and hugged him, too. Draco hugged him back, looking as though he hadn't expected to hug his former worst enemy in a thousand years. "It's good of you to come back," Harry said, pulling away, patting Draco on the back.

"How though? I thought you were so deeply in," he asked, and all three of them shared smiles. Draco started to speak, but a voice from outside said "Alohomora!" and they heard the front door click open.

"Quick," said Ron, "to the fireplace!" The fireplace upstairs was much smaller, but they decided to take the risk. Hermione started a fire; Draco threw in the Floo Powder, stepped in, and yelled "Snape's house!" Second went Harry. Third was Ron, and Hermione saw a glimpse of a cloak before she practically jumped into the fireplace and yelled the destination at the top of her lungs.

She landed roughly, on her hands and knees, coughing and sputtering. "Are you alright?" Ron asked helping her up, concern written all over his black charcoaled face. She noticed a trickle of blood had run down from the bandage, and a nasty purple bruise was forming around it. "Yeah," she choked out.

Draco now had black hair, Harry was trying to fix his glasses, and Ron was looking expectantly at her with blue eyes, under a layer of soot. "I'm fine," she repeated, a little more focused now. 

They sat down to take tea, and started asking Harry questions. 

"Wait a second," Harry said, "first I want to know where Ginny is, and if she's alright."

The three of them looked at their feet. 

"Where's Ginny?" He asked, more angrily.

"Harry, she's missing too." Hermione tried to make it sound soft, but it still caused her stomach to drop as she said it. Harry looked at her in disbelief. 

"What? No, she couldn't, they…how?" He fell weakly into a chair.

"We don't really know," Draco said.

"The damn Ministry took us off the case. We were working on both." Ron exclaimed, clearly just as angry as Harry was. 

"Who is on it, then?"

"They didn't tell us," Hermione said quietly, "please, Harry, if you know anything, please…"

"I guess I should explain," Harry said, taking a deep breath. "I'll start from the beginning. I should have told you this much earlier, Ron, but Gin and I have become close. Very close. We used to talk through the fireplace every day," he said, with a small smile. Ron seemed to be trying to clamp his mouth shut, he probably wanted to lecture Harry on being good to his little sister, and taking care of her, but it was obvious that neither of them had stopped the inevitable. Ginny still got kidnapped. 

I had just completed my Auror training at my Master's house, and I came home to get my belongings. The Ministry had told me to find any Death Eaters I could, and bring them back alive, so they could be questioned and put in Azkaban. I was talking to Gin that day, about everything they had told me to do, and I heard my door open. I turned around, and Voldemort was there with two of his followers. I tried to fight, but they stunned me. Ginny saw everything. But I guess that one of them saw her, too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry awoke to see darkness swimming above him. It took him about six seconds to realize they were cloak hoods. Immediately, he jumped up and tried to run away, but they caught him by the arm, and pushed him back down.

"Where's the girl?" One of the men asked.

"What girl?" Harry replied.

"Don't play stupid with us, boy, we know you were talking to a girl in the fireplace. Who is she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, under the Dark Lord's plan, you'll know exactly what we're talking about."

"What?"

They explained the idea of the charm to him, jeering at him, and threatening him.

"So, tell us who she is, and where she is, or you'll get it."

"I'll die before I tell you anything."

"Aww, what a hero. Suit yourself."

"Well, maybe I could tell you something. Can, can I make you some tea?"

They looked at him as though he were insane. He just denied that he would ever say anything, and now he was offering them tea.

"What's the catch? You don't have a back door."

"I know that. There isn't any catch. I just need some tea, and I'll tell you about her."

"Fine, but if you try anything, anything at all, we'll turn you into Hippogriff dung. Understood?"

"Wonderfully. Clear as glass. Perfectly," he said, slipping into the kitchen, and picking up a scrap of paper. Now where was a quill? Ah, there. He put on the tea water, and got out mugs. Then, quickly, he wrote the word FIDELIUS on the scrap, and tore it into each letter. That way, they wouldn't get too suspicious. Purposely, he dropped one of the mugs on the floor, creating a loud shattering noise, along with one of the letters. Immediately, the two, rather stupid Death Eaters appeared in the doorway. 

"My mistake," he said, and ran through the other doorway, where he dropped another letter.  They chased him all over the house, and finally, they cornered him in the last room of the house, and he had already dropped his last letter there.  One of the men came over to him, a deep scowl on his face, and suddenly, everything went black for Harry Potter. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't remember anything after that, until I woke up again, alone in my bedroom. It had been a couple of months by myself, with owls from Voldemort, delivering food and drink and hardly enough at that. I felt like I was going to die. It was terrible. Then, all of the sudden, one day, you three showed up, walked right into my room, and started searching it. I was so happy that day; I just sat there, on my bed, and listened to your conversation. And when you found the clue, I finally felt some hope in me. I wondered why you were there, though, Malfoy. I mean, Draco, of course." 

He smiled at them. It didn't last for long, though, and soon, all four were frowning deeply again. Each face was more sad, and desperate than the next. 

"Well, we know what we have to do now," Draco said, breaking the silence. They nodded in agreement. "We have to go to Dumbledore. We'll tell him everything. Everybody can give his, or her," he added hastily, with a glance at Hermione, "point of view on what happened." 

"Great idea," Ron said, moving his head very little, "And Harry, Sirius might be there, too. He could help, he's had experience, with this kind of thing, right?" His eyes shined with anticipation.

Harry grinned a little, making them all feel better about the situation. _Well, I have to admit, Hermione thought, __finding Harry didn't solve all our problems. But that was more than half of it, and as soon as we find Ginny, everything will be back to the way it was before any of this started._

One thing kept pulling at her mind, though._ Do I want everything to be the way it was before this started?_

"What'd you say?" Ron asked, looking at her. They looked at him as though he was a bit mad. 

"I-I didn't say anything," Hermione said, looking at him. _Did I say that out loud?_

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought I heard you say something. I must be tired." He smiled wearily at her. Hermione blinked, thinking.

After deciding to take the Hogwarts Express (which was much more relaxing than Apparating or Floo Powder), Hermione insisted upon all of them, that they get to bed. Reluctantly, they all trudged up the stairs, she behind them. She didn't go to bed, though. Thinking about earlier, Hermione grabbed a washcloth and bowl from her room, filled the bowl with warm water in the bathroom, and walked down the hall to Ron's bedroom.

"Knock, knock," she said softy.

"Who's there?" Ron said, tensely.

Hermione laughed at his response.

"Oh, come on in, 'Mione," he said, opening the door. He had no shirt on. Hermione looked down into her bowl of water, blushing furiously. 

"What were you laughing about?"

"Oh," she said, working up enough confidence to look completely nonplussed about his appearance as she looked up, "it's just these muggle jokes, and they all start with Knock, knock, and the person responds, saying who's there? They're very silly jokes, but funny."

Ron gave her a blank stare, and sat down on his bed. "Hmm," Hermione sighed, " Never mind. Turn your head, I want to look at that cut of yours," she continued, pulling up a chair, and turning his chin gently away from her. She carefully unwrapped the bandage, which was soaked with blood, but had dried now.

To say it was a cut was very understated. It was more like a gash, a dent, horrifyingly serious-looking, but thanks to Professor Snape, not so dangerous anymore. Still a little bloody, and that bruise would be there for days, but right now it just needed to be cleaned up.

"Well, this looks like it's doing very well! You'll be back to normal in no time!"

Ron looked at her cynically, as she wet the washcloth. "You don't have to pretend, 'Mione. I looked in the mirror just a few minutes ago." 

"Oh, well. It's…" she shut her mouth and bit her lip, turning his head away from her again. Lightly, she pressed the cloth to his head, and he winced and gave a loud, 'Ow!' He looked betrayedly at her, and she smiled. "Ron, don't wake up everyone in the house. It's going to hurt, but you'll just have to deal with it." He screwed up his face bravely, as Hermione cleaned it out, and they talked back and forth a bit.

It was a bit past dawn, when she finally finished, and wrapped a clean bandage round his head. Kissing the place where the wound was, she said, "feel better. It's been a long and heavy day for all of us, try to get some rest." Ron smiled at her, and his ears turned red. He snuggled down in the covers, and Hermione closed the curtains, so that the light wouldn't get in. As she left, she closed the doors. Behind the door came a muffled, "Thanks, 'Mione. Good night." 

"Good night, Ron." She called back, and smiled as she walked back to her room, that pink necklace of hers growing a little more red.

~_Evyfleur_


	11. Hogwarts Train Trips and OverProtective ...

**Chapter 11**

**Author's Note: Nice to see you all again! I didn't have time to put up this chapter quickly because I've been moving into boarding school. Isn't that awesome? And our dorm level is decorated like Harry Potter! I'm excited! Anyway, I'll put my notes to my reviewers on the next chapter, which will be up much sooner than this one was. I hope you like this chapter, especially the joke at the end, haha! Anyway, bye bye!**

**Disclaimer: "Oh, how many times must I tell you? I've tried to kill them, but they always come back in larger numbers. We just need organization, that's all, there're more than enough of us, we can take them!" The man in the long, white jacket smiled at her sadly. "But this isn't your battle. J.K. Rowling has to do something about it. We're going to up your prescription to 600mg a day, okay?" "No, no, I know the rights aren't mine! They're hers, they're Rowling's, but we have to stop them, Warner Brothers is going to destroy all of it! Please! No! The medicine clouds my vision, it makes me tired! Noooooo!!!" The door slams on the girl and she tries to get up, but her straitjacket is too tight, so she leans back against the soft wall of her cell, frustrated. **

                                                                                                            _Hogwarts__ Train trips and Over-Protective Hippogriffs_

_A much lighter, brighter red curtain is flung away, and the audience sets their eyes on a train that's zooming through a countryside, four friends sitting inside one of the compartments, two talking, and two observing…_

            The snow was fresh, and blanketed the scenery with freshness, with purity. This beautiful picture was being pulled constantly past the eyes of the four persons, as the train made its way toward Hogwarts castle. Draco was just looking out the window, contemplating something, staring off in the distance, out the large window. He seemed unable to withhold his snobby disposition, and looked almost impatient, and disdainful. Ron and Hermione knew better than that, and Harry was quickly catching on. It was hard for him not to call Draco…Malfoy, though. 

            At the moment, Ron and Harry were talking to each other confidentially, their voices bursting with excitement and happiness. Ron was telling their story with a lot of excessive hand gestures and voices, along with exaggeration, which was the usual with Ron, of course. Harry knew when this was going on, though, because at some points he would grin knowingly, and just nod modestly, pretending to accept Ron's story as reality. 

This was all being watched closely by Hermione, who was sitting at the other end of the compartment, reading a book, or at least, it looked like it to anyone who wasn't paying close attention to her. If they were, they would have noticed not only that the book was about quidditch, a game which completely bored Hermione out of her wits (she'd stopped reading books about it after first year), but that the book was upside down. But she looked on pleasantly, absorbing the actions of the three boys. 

            With a deep sigh, she pretended to look at the book again, but looked back up to Draco. She knew that behind that shrewd face, he was really very sad, thinking about what had happened at Malfoy Manor yet again. She didn't blame him at all, if her father had died like that, if that had happened to her, she didn't know what she would have done with herself. But she gave her book an encouraging smile she knew he wouldn't receive. 

Looking down at the necklaces, Hermione noticed his to be a greenish-turquoise. At that time, Ron's was a bright blue, and hers was violet. She turned her gaze now upon Ron, and his…imaginative version of their daring quest to find the Boy-Who-Lived. Come to think of it, Hermione thought, it should be the Boy-That-Lived. (A/n: Sorry, just had to put that in! It isn't mine!)Well, that figured. Anyway, she was caught by Ron's expressions, and started watching him. 

            Hermione had to hold back her laughter as he made a wide arch with his arms, and then brought them in tightly by his sides. And he did some sort of motion as if he was tiptoeing, and tapping someone on the shoulder. Then he brought his hands up to his face like he was asleep, and said something to make Harry laugh. Her eyes stayed there, on his face, where his bright blue eyes were brought into all kinds of different emotions. The sun that streamed into the compartment lit up his head, making his bright red hair look like it had caught fire. His freckles danced cheerfully around his cheeks and long nose, jumping to and fro, aiding him in his facial expressions. She saw many impressions of people as she watched him. There were Dumbledore, and Sirius, Lupin, Snape, Draco, of course, and at many times even Hermione herself. 

            Abruptly, Ron looked toward her, and he saw Hermione staring at him. Immediately, as their eyes locked, Hermione tore hers away (it was very hard to do), blushing furiously once again, and looked down at her book, concentrating very hard on the word **falling, in the middle of the page. No, she couldn't be, could she? "I'm not falling," she said quietly, and decided to focus on the word ****bludger instead. It reminded her of another time, a not so happy time, when Viktor had fallen. **

Hermione shut her eyes tightly, trying to block his face, the dent in his head from her vision. It kept flickering, flickering from him in the hospital, being cold and hard, dying, to Ron, Ron with his injuries, Ron shouting at her, Ron smiling at her, Ron defending her. 

            When she'd steadied herself, she looked back up at Ron and Harry. They were talking very quietly now, their heads together, sharing some sort of secret. Hermione looked on in interest. Harry started smiling again, in a way that showed he knew and had been expecting this secret to be told for a long time, but instead, when Ron pulled back to see his reaction, Harry had placed a shocked and impartial expression on his face, and said, "Really?"  As though he'd had no idea what Ron was saying. Ron nodded solemnly; he was wearing a rather perplexed expression now. _What's that all about? What does Harry know? Ron is confused? About what? _

            After about five minutes of trying to think of what they were conversing on, Hermione surprised herself by challenging Ron to a game of chess. She had no idea why she'd done so, she always lost against him, but he agreed. Harry looked delighted. "I play winner," he said, moving across to sit next to Ron, while Hermione took Harry's place, and they set up the board. They grinned at her, as though they knew she was going to lose royally. 

"Boys," she muttered, and commanded her white pawn to move forward two spaces. The game ended with a magnificent loss by Hermione, but it wasn't all in vain. Ron taught her some useful tips during the game. She now switched places with Harry to sit next to Ron, and their necklaces became a peachy red color. Harry clamped his mouth shut, but the corners of his mouth were threatening to turn upward. 

Harry was much better at chess than Hermione, after practicing with Ron all those years, but he still wasn't a match for him. Ron now would whisper to Hermione all the things Harry was doing right or wrong in his game, pointing to certain pieces, and telling her how their position was. Harry seemed half embarrassed, and half amused by this, and sat, waiting each turn for Ron to move, his arms crossed smugly over his chest.           Hermione was learning good tactics from Ron, and was starting to understand the way he thought, about life, about their situations, about people, and why they would do things. This contented Hermione, and she felt a lot closer to him while this was going on, and she didn't mean just the fact that they were almost sitting on top of one another, being both crowded in front of the chess board. When Ron had won again, they talked for a little while, and played two rounds of **Exploding Snape!, a game the Weasley twins had invented for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, before they arrived at Hogwarts.**

            "We're here," Draco announced. 

            They left their things in the train, except for the things they were carrying with them, so the House-Elves could carry them up to their beds. This wasn't done, however, without a small argument from Hermione, insisting that they shouldn't have to deal with their luggage. Ron patiently shoved Hermione out of the train and into a horseless carriage successfully, though, and they made their way up to the castle. 

            When they arrived, the students were busy eating supper in the Great Hall, and Harry and Draco had to keep a firm grip on Ron to keep him from fleeing to the Gryffindor table and feasting like he used to. Snuffles caught his attention by barking at him, and Ron came back to reality. 

            "Oh, hi Snuffles. I'm sorry, it's just, the food here is so good." 

He gave him a pat on the head, and the dog seemed to understand Ron's point. Harry was very excited, and knelt down to scratch Snuffles behind the ear, and the dog put a paw on Harry's shoulder. Hermione and Draco also greeted the dog, and Snuffles barked, and led them to Dumbledore's office.  

Once inside, Dumbledore inquired after the events which took place since they left, and Sirius returned to his human form, greeting all of them (and especially Harry) with great admiration. One by one, they all told Dumbledore what happened, and Draco had a very hard time of it. When he was finished, for he was the last person to share, the group fell silent.

Sirius walked over to where Draco sat, and placed a compassionate hand on his shoulder. "You have proved yourself to be a decent man; anyone could have been scared into doing that. I have a lot of respect for you, Draco Malfoy. You're a separate person from your father, and I understand what you're going through. Don't worry. All of us see you for who you are, and no matter what, you can't change what happened in the past, so…I know this isn't the most graceful or poetic speech, but," Sirius smiled, and patted him on the back. Draco looked up at him, and nodded thoughtfully. Hermione smiled as this happened. She looked over to Harry, who seemed to agree with what Sirius had said, and she looked over to Ron, who was smiling like she was. Their eyes found each other again, and stayed like that for a few seconds, until Dumbledore spoke.

He told them that what they had done was more help than they could have imagined, expressed his relief that Harry was with them once more, and told them that the group from the ministry hadn't found Ginny yet, and that if they wanted, (Ron had a threatening  Let-Us-Take-The-Case-Or-Else look on his face) they could help also. Ron beamed, as did Harry, and they discussed the issue with Dumbledore. 

"What happened with the Death Eaters, Professor?" Hermione asked, after they'd finished. Dumbledore and Sirius smiled at each other.

 "I was wondering when you would ask that, Miss Granger. In fact, they were about to attack, when a group of Hippogriffs decided to guard the gates to the school. Needless to say, the Death Eaters retreated. Sirius has said he's had nothing to do with it, but I think a certain Buckbeak has a different story, if he decides to come around again."  Sirius laughed.

"Hagrid was thrilled when he saw them. It took two days to convince him that the Hippogriffs would be fine to leave." The whole group, even Draco (though he was a bit confused why this had to do with Sirius), laughed at this. 

"Well, good for them," Harry said. By the time they left his office, Dumbledore looked at least five years younger, and they were all smiling.  

"Alright, Ron, we can have dinner now," Hermione said, finally giving in to his pleas. 

"Yes!" he whooped, jumping for victory in the air. Then he grabbed Hermione's hand, and ran toward the Great Hall, Hermione struggling to keep up with him.

Draco and Harry laughed at this for a long time, looking after their friends. They looked at each other, and for the first time, it didn't strike loathing into one another's minds. "I'm Harry," Harry said, grinning, and held out his hand. Draco grinned back, knowing what he meant, and took Harry's hand. "Draco," he said, and they started talking very amiably, as though they had just met. 

"I wonder what their children will look like," Harry said, when they got onto the subject of Ron and Hermione. Draco smirked. 

"I already know," he said, matter-of-factly. Harry gave him a confused look.


	12. A Kiss in the Snow

**Chapter 12**

**Author's Note: Yes, I'm back again, finally, as some of you are saying right now. And I must deeply apologize for keeping you in suspense too long. I'm sure you must be losing interest now. But, if you're still loyal enough to me to keep reading, or for some others, reviewing *coughHERMIONEWEASLEYcough*, here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it! This, one, I know, will be an object of confusion for Chapters to come. I love that. Just look at the title. You'll know what I mean. MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Now, to recognize those who have been waiting so long….**

**Marron****- Thanks for reviewing! But I just wanted to tell you not to worry about Ginny. She will return soon. You don't think I would just let harry grow old without his beloved Weezys, do you? Of course not. Keep reading! I know you'll love this Chapter.**

**Anyana****- Yay! I'm so happy you reviewed for me! I'm going to keep updating as often as possible. I love Draco, he's just so versatile, don't you agree? And my new key phrase, especially for this chapter, is that fluff helps the medicine go down! Hahaha…keep reading!**

**owl**** post 1992- Thanks for the review! Just wait till you read more! Lol, I think you'll like it even more.**

**Athletic_Gurl_2002- Thanks for the awesome review! I hope you continue to read and enjoy my fan fiction. Have fun reading!**

**hox****-**** Thank you! I'd be delighted if you keep reading my story, I'm positive you'll like it.**

**Strawberry_Strudel****- Thank you for the review, I'm happy to know that you think it's cute! Ron and Hermione forever! Hehe. Yes. Anyway…well, I knew it was my destiny to be the recorder of this story…*eyes mist over as she stares at the poster of Ron*…Um, anyway! Keep reading!**

**bumpersticker86- Lol, thanks for the review! Oh, don't worry about Harry and Ginny. I loooovvve happy endings to much to create a remotely sad one. That is, unless it's a Harry/Hermione story *growls* Yes, I could write a sad ending about that. But I'm sure you'll love this chapter, fluff is my forte. Please keep reviewing!**

:::WARNING:::Those who have been reading the notes to reviewers might want to skip this one. It will be a bit long. Thank you, and have a nice day!

**Hermione**** Weasley- Oh dear. I'm so sorry. I really am. Forgive me for not updating sooner. You see, school has been very difficult lately, and the only class I have that isn't either Honors or AP is Geometry. Hehe. But that isn't an excuse. I promise that I'm not going to abandon this fic, and I will really try to start updating more frequently. This is my best one so far, anyway….in my opinion. I hope you love this Chapter, I know I loved writing it.  And, as to your request for more song fics: I will attempt to rite them whenever I have the time to do so. At the moment I'm trying to find a good song for Hermione to sing back to Ron for Fairy Tale in Pop Music, and I have a few other ideas I might put into words soon, as long as I can find the time. You know, though, patience is a virtue, as Evy says in the Mummy, and suspense is a great literary tool. I have abused that tool a bit, I think. So expect to see another chapter soon. Yes, I will put it up soon. Thank you for waiting so long, my friend. Cheers! **

:::WARNING:::Well, perhaps this is not really a warning, but, um, you may commence reading again. Thank you, and continue to have a nice day! 

 This chapter is dedicated to Jiwon Kang, the best roommate in la monde!

Disclaimer: Okay, I'm done with creative disclaimers. I don't own all these rights to Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling does), only the plot, and goody-two-shoes Draco, though he's a bit depressed in this chapter. And by the way, Anybody else feel like murdering Warner Brothers employees, or at least threatening them by all dressing up like owls, and flying around heir studios. And then we might even get a glimpse of some movie stars! Heehee!

**A Kiss in the Snow**

_A happy red curtain is pulled away to reveal the Great Hall, bright and crowded with lots of students, and the focal point: the four who aren't students or teachers, but are, in fact, very hungry…_

Dinner was wonderful. The table was piled high with steak, potatoes, warm rolls, salad, tomato soup, green beans, pasta, rice, chicken, and all sorts of other good foods. The four of them ate ravenously, all looking like Ron during a usual meal. 

Afterward, they all felt very satisfied and decided to take a walk on the grounds. They talked cheerfully while they did this, and at one point, Draco picked up a handful of remaining snow, and hit Ron in the back of his head. Ron turned around with a "Hey!" but Harry was already coming to his rescue. Draco bent down to get some more snow, and when he stood up again, Harry was waiting, and rubbed a snowball in his face. 

This went on for a while, until it was an all-out snowball fight between two teams: Ron and Harry verses Draco and Hermione. They all laughed non-stop, throwing snowballs at one another, hiding behind trees, pushing each other around. Harry and Ron were winning, of course, but it was still very fun. At one point, Hermione saw Ron sneaking up behind Draco, carrying a substantially large snowball. 

"Hey Ron!" She called after him. 

Ron turned to look at her angrily, but she was smiling. "Wingardium Leviosa!" She said, with a swish and flick of her wand. The snowball that had been in his hand was now on his head, and he shook the snow off his face and hair violently. "You'll pay for that one, 'Mione," he shouted, shaking his fist at her. A few minutes later, Draco and Harry had been in hand-to-hand snowball combat, and got into a mock fight. They were a jumble of arms and legs, shouting fake insults at one another.

"You're dead, Potter!"

"Don't count on it, Malfoy!"

It went on as thus, and Hermione stepped closer to watch as they rolled around with big "oof!"s and "aah!"s, kicking and punching. Hermione laughed happily, watching them, she knew Harry would become Draco's friend once they'd gotten used to each other. Suddenly, a snowball hit the back of her head. She turned around immediately, her mouth wide open in anger, to find Ron standing right there.

They were nose to nose, facing one another, with Harry and Draco pretending to fight behind them. She shut her mouth abruptly, and looked into Ron's sly, blue eyes. He must have lost whatever idea he had when he looked at her eyes, though, and they lost the sly look. They just stared at each other, for a long time it seemed, until Ron made up his mind. Quickly, he stooped down, and placed his lips on hers, and they kissed. Everything stopped for a moment, however short the kiss was; it seemed perfect. Then Ron pulled away, looking shocked, but smiled, rubbed a snowball in her face, and dashed away. Hermione looked after him in confusion.

Finally, Draco and Harry ended their battle, and the four of them decided it would be a good idea to visit Hagrid before going back up to the castle. After all, they were soaking wet, and could use a little rest in front of a fire. Apparently, the two of them hadn't seen what happened between Ron and Hermione._ Unless it didn't happen. But it did, I know it did. Didn't it? Ron was certainly acting like it didn't. _

"Harry! Yeh're back! I knew they'd find yeh, I knew it, didn't I?" He yelled joyously to them, when they arrived, promptly giving Harry a big hug which almost suffocated him. "Come in, I'll make some tea. You four look chilled to the bone."  They all stomped the snow off of their boots, and stepped into the warm hut, a crackling fire burning in the corner of the one room hut. Ron took Hermione's cloak from her, and hung it up, almost compulsively, leaving Hermione more confused than before, and they all settled comfortably into Hagrid's huge furniture.

Fang was ecstatic. He barked and growled and had to give all of them rather slobbery kisses that they all laughed at. Hagrid brought a big tea pot, and some matching mugs out of the corner which served as a kitchen, and served them all. Hermione hugged her knees to her chest, and held her tea with two cold hands, and they all chatted with spirit for about an hour about Hippogriffs, classes this year, and the progress of the situation, when something happened.

A gust of wind blew into the room from one of the windows, and brought with it a piece of paper, which Harry caught confusedly. He read it quickly, his eyes widening in terror, and then stuffed it into his pocket. Running outside, he looked around wildly, as if he was searching for someone.

"Where are you? You think you're that smart, huh? Well, then, come and get me! Challenge me!" Harry yelled this at the top of his lungs, his arms outstretched to the night, mad with rage. "What are you waiting for? You said you knew where I was! Come on, then! Come on!" Harry stopped to breathe, and muttered, "Damn them. Damn Them!" Then he whimpered, and collapsed in a heap.

"Harry!" Ron cried, and ran to help him. The rest of the group followed him outside. Harry was sobbing; his body shaking hard. Ron helped him to sit, and found the note in his pocket. He read it, and cursed under his breath. Then he handed it to Hermione, who showed it to the rest of them. 

**POTTER**

**IF YOU WANT TO SEE **

**THE WEASLEY GIRL AGAIN**

**YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS**

**WILL SURRENDER.**

**WE WILL FIND YOU.**

At the bottom, it was signed cruelly with the Dark Mark. It was burned into the paper. Hagrid looked very grim. "We'd better get Harry up ter the Hospital Wing, he doesn't look too good." He picked Harry up, and they walked silently up to the castle. The Hospital Wing was always open now, so they took Harry to see Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes, he should stay here tonight," she said, after examining him, and listening to what he told her. 

"I'm staying with him," Ron insisted. 

"Of course. We're all staying here. We couldn't just leave him here," Draco said. Hermione nodded in agreement. Reluctantly, Madam Pomfrey assented to them staying, and gave Harry a sleeping potion to take. Meanwhile, Ron and Draco dragged three chairs over to the side of the bed, and Hagrid and Harry said good-bye to each other. Hagrid patted the bed lightly, making it shake dangerously, got up, told them all good-bye, and left for his Hut. Harry gulped down his potion, and immediately dropped into a deep sleep, but was wearing a frown. 

They all sat down in the chairs, and hardly any time passed before Draco also fell asleep, snoring a bit. Ron and Hermione, however, stayed awake, watching Harry intently. It could have been five minutes, or two hours, but some time later, Ron felt Hermione's head droop, and rest on his shoulder. She was fast asleep. With a concerned sigh, Ron placed his arm around Hermione, and watched Harry sleep.

When they woke up the next morning, Harry was trying to convince Madam Pomfrey to release him. "Please?!" Madam Pomfrey looked at him sternly, and responded bluntly.

"Dear boy, I have no knowledge of where you are going, or why you are going, so I think the only ones who would know whether you are ready to go, would be your friends, and they are still asleep. Let them be," she added, as if Harry was going to jump out of bed and shake them, or shout at them to wake up, or something of the sort. 

Draco stood up readily, and just on time, Harry was starting to look impatient, and called the nurse back. "Good morning, Madam," he said with his winning smirk, and took her hand, kissing it, like a gentleman would do if he lived in the 1800's. "You're looking very youthful and healthy today, if I may say so," he added.

"Oh! Why, erm, thank you, Mr. Malfoy," she said, blushing deeply, and doing some sort of strange curtsy in reply to his kiss on her hand. 

"My friends and I, including Harry, really must be going now. Is that alright?  You did a magnificent job on bringing Harry back to health, also, Madam."

She seemed to be fighting some inner struggle at this point, and finally said, "Well, er…I don't…oh, I suppose it's fine. But be careful. I've seen all of you in this wing of the school many times too often!"

Harry hopped out of bed; they all smiled and waved, and left as quickly as they could. Hermione looked at Draco with a sarcastic wonder. "Draco! I never knew you could actually be nice to someone! Good job! Really! Well done," Hermione said, and shook his hand energetically. Draco looked at her in faint annoyance. She dropped it.

"So…where to now?" Ron asked, with a look at Harry.

"Me? Why are you looking at me?" Harry asked, with a familiar confused look on his face. He seemed to wear that a lot. 

"You've always been the leader, haven't you, Harry? Of course I'm asking you."

Harry took this as a compliment, and remembering last night, said, "Well, then. To find Ginny."

"Sounds like something I've wanted to do ever since we heard she was missing," Ron said, a twinge of anger in his voice. "Where do you think she is?" 

"I might have an idea. But first, I propose we all get a shower, and all our stuff." This idea was agreed on, and they all headed up to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione muttering how unfair it was that the house-elves had to deal with all of their belongings, when they didn't even end up needing them. 

"We will now," Ron said, and they started bickering, putting last night's situation out of their minds.

Hermione had gotten a nice, hot bath, and had brought her belongings down to the common room. Mysteriously enough, she hadn't seen Augery or Noss at all since she'd gotten here yesterday. It gave her chills now to think of them, and what they might mean. Ron had returned Harry's map and invisibility cloak to him, and they were having a brotherly talk in front of the fire. _I wonder how long it will be until that's legally true. She thought, with a bittersweet laugh. They all seemed too big for the squashy armchairs now, too. __I remember when two of us could fit into one of those chairs, oh well…she recalled this, sighing. _

Hermione noticed lately that Draco had been quite reserved, and decided to talk to him. All this brooding seemed unhealthy to her. At the moment, he was sitting in a chair far from the fire, looking like a grump old man, his handsome face drawn and worried. He was regretting those events, yet again. Hermione sat down next to him, quietly, and placed her hand on his arm. He started. 

"What?" he asked, turning round to face her. As soon as he saw who it was, he relaxed.

 "Oh, I didn't think it was you," he said. "What is it?"

"I was just wondering, you're not still thinking about what happened at the Manor, are you? You can't do, and couldn't have done anything about it, you know," she said, knowing that was exactly what was bothering him. 

"What, that? Oh, it doesn't matter. I've done much worse. I've killed many, many, people. This isn't any different. Only the fact that he was my father, and I feel like I killed him. But it shouldn't have the effect that it's having on me. Okay, I admit it, that's what's wrong. And I really haven't killed that many people." There was a long and awkward pause between them, and then he spoke again.

"Yes," he said, as if concluding something, "you're right, Granger. As usual. I mean…Hermione. Excuse me." Hermione laughed at this, and, after a few seconds, Draco smiled, too. 

"Well, if we want to get going, we had better discuss it with Potter…Harry, I mean, or else we won't know where we're going," Draco said self-righteously, and they walked over to where Ron and Harry were sitting. They both looked up to acknowledge the presence of the two of them, and Hermione blushed slightly, under Ron's gaze. She quickly brushed it off, though. She cleared her throat and reminded herself that business goes first.

Harry smiled. "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Oh, yes. We're ready. We'd be even more ready if you told us where we're going," Draco said, a little icily, lifting his nose. Hermione crossed her arms, and glanced around with a come-on-guys-we're-a-team-and-we-have-to-work-together look on her face. Harry looked at her with his classic Deer in the Headlights expression, Draco nodded and put his nose down, and Ron grinned at her.

"Okay," Harry said, "Our first stop will be the Burrow, and we'll figure out where to go from there, but I have some ideas." 

"Great, let's go," Ron replied eagerly, slinging his bag onto his back, and walking towards the portrait. Hermione shrugged and followed him, Harry behind her, and lastly, Draco picked up his bag, gave a last glance to the Gryffindor common room, and walked out with them. On their way out, Hermione happened to catch a glimpse of a leather pant leg under Draco's cloak, and had to stifle a laugh. 


	13. Burrowing into the Mystery

**Chapter 13 **

Dedicated to Jiwon Kang, the best roommate in la monde!

**Author's note: Hey guys! I finally have my next chapter up! Yay! I appreciate all the reviews I got for chapter twelve, and have been working very hard to turn out this next one. But I must say, I'm rather disappointed in those of you (everyone) who didn't give me any suggestions for a pop song that Hermione could sing, and I really need one. Really really! So, please continue to read, and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong, and I will attempt to correct any cardinal sins of HP fanfic writing that I've commited. Thank you, and please enjoy!**

**CurlsofGold****: Lol, isn't snow romantic! I love it! I hope you continue to read, and don't worry about Ronniekins and Hermy-own-ninny, they'll work it out! Thank you for the wonderful review!**

**owl**** post 1992: Yum, Draco is a hottie, isn't he? I just had to do that. I have a black and white picture on my wall of him leaning on his broomstick in his Slytherin quidditch robes. It's lovely! Thanks for the review!**

**Hermione**** Weasley: Yes, I'm going to be working on a lot of development between Ginny and Harry. That couple is very important to me. Anyway, here's the next chapter and I'm going to keep writing for you and I need lots of input, including constructive criticism. Thanks for your loyalty to my story, I really appreciate it. Really, tell me if I need to work an anything. Thank you for the wonderful reviews. **

**bumpersticker86: Lol, tell me about it! I hate how short these days seem to be! Here's the next chapter for you, I hope you like it! Just like I said above, feel welcome to give me constructive criticism. Sorry for keeping you waiting so long! Thank you for the awesome reviews!**

**Strwberry_Strudel****: Thanks for the review! I know, isn't h/r fluff the bst stuff in the world? Ron and Hermione forever!!!**

**Disclaimer: Oh shut up Warner Bros. for once in your life! J.K. Rowling owns this and created it with her wonderful imagination, not you. I'll curse you!******

**Burrowing into the Mystery**

_A curtain is pulled back, revealing a bright, sunny day outside a welcoming hamlet in northern __England__. Four young adults are walking toward a very precarious-looking house, a house obviously held together by magic._

            Ottery St. Catchpole never looked as welcoming as it did that bright day when Hermione and the others arrived to visit the Burrow. She couldn't wait to see the rest, or, at least, most of the rest of the Weasley. After all, it had been more than four years since she had. Ron looked very cheerful about it, too, and Harry. Harry was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. Draco looked pretty indifferent, but tense, too. Hermione reminded herself that Draco's father, Lucius, and Arthur Weasley had always been enemies.  Hermione sighed pleasantly. _Ah, zany Mr. Weasley. Sweet Mrs. Weasley, eccentric Percy, and those mischievous twins, Fred and George.  Hopefully the oldest brothers, Bill and Charlie, would be there, too, but Hermione doubted it. They were usually off in Romania and Egypt, working. _

            _I wish it was a happier day, though, Hermione thought, imagining how the day would be if Ginny weren't missing. It would be happy, but they probably would all just have a nice time, eating some of Mrs. Weasley's great cooking, say good-bye, and go their separate ways. With that fear in her stomach, Hermione's thoughts strayed to Ron. He had kissed her, for goodness' sake! __Was he just trying to get back at me? Or did he really mean it? Oh, dear. Well, if we hadn't had that immature, childish snow fight in the first place, I wouldn't be in this situation. Curse you, Ronald Weasley! She glared at him bitterly. She tried to reason with herself, back and forth, but for once, Hermione couldn't come up with a logical explanation. _

            When she'd finally pulled herself from this distraction, she noticed that they were standing in front of the Weasleys' door, a few chickens pecking aimlessly around the lawn. Draco looked very disturbed with this vision, and that shadow of regret passed across his face again. Ron and Harry were looking ecstatic, though. Mrs. Weasley opened the door, and quickly put a handkerchief she'd been using to dab her eyes away in her apron pocket. Beaming now, she beckoned them all in. 

            "Hello, dears," she cooed, hugging and kissing them each in turn (with an extra kiss for she and Harry) and taking their wet, cold things from them to dry and hang in the closet. "I'm so happy you all are alright, I was worried half to death. Oh, Harry dear, I'm so happy that you're alive, we were all so anxious to hear news of you." She went on and on about him, and he grinned modestly, trying to take the subject off himself, but failing completely. Mrs. Weasley graciously avoided talking about Hermione and Malfoy, and was going to say something else, when…

            "Harry!" the twins exclaimed, tumbling down the stairs and engulfing him in two identical hugs. Hermione looked over to Ron to see him patiently enduring this, a half-smile on his face. But Hermione felt bad for him. It was his own family, and they weren't even noticing him. They all ran to meet Harry, and Ron was left in the dust once again, as always. He had gotten used to this, but Hermione didn't think it was very fair. She moved over a little, and brushed her arm against his. He looked at her curiously, and she gave him what she hoped to be an encouraging look. He seemed to understand, and brushed back.

            Ron threatened to hex the twins if they didn't get off of Harry, and they finally let go of him, giving Ron a hurt look. "What? We were just glad to see our soon-to-be brother-in-law," George said, beaming in that Weasley way. Then they proceeded to greet Hermione politely, cautiously, and the same with Draco. 

Mrs.Weasley seemed to have enough of the twins for now, though, and said, "Come on, let's all into the kitchen. We've got to get you warm or you'll all catch something, and we wouldn't want that, would we?" She ushered them into the kitchen, kindly. The twins hurried back upstairs to continue with some sort of work they were doing.

            It smelled like a pie was baking at the moment, and Mr. Weasley was sitting at the small, scrubbed, wooden kitchen table, reading the Daily Prophet with a furrowed brow. He looked up when they entered, and looked from Ron to Harry happily, but frowned in confusion at Hermione and Draco. Ron, however, took no notice of this, and went over, patted his dad on the back, and sat down next to him. Hermione decided that they should probably sit down, too, and gave Draco and Harry both a look that clearly said so. Draco nodded, and went to sit down, and once again, Harry looked at her perplexedly. Hermione went and sat down next to Ron, and Harry took the hint, and sat down next to Draco. 

            Trying to make conversation that wasn't too depressing, Hermione spoke to the older man. "Mr. Weasley, how are you?" she asked, with a smile at him. Arthur looked all but astounded that she was there, and took a while to respond. Finally, he said with some awe, "Erm, Hermione! I'm doing well, very fine. Work has been tedious lately at the Ministry, as I'm sure you know, but doing fine. What brings you to the Burrow? I don't recall, no, I haven't seen you since Hogwarts graduation. You're a very beautiful young woman, Hermione." Mr. Weasley was getting more used to her being here, though, even as he said these last words, and put down his paper to take a sip of tea. 

            Ron nudged his father with his arm, making him almost spill his drink. Mr.Weasley steadied it with both his hands, and looked at Ron. The two of them exchanged a variety of expressions, until Hermione decidedly cleared her throat. They turned to her with innocent, identical grins on their faces, and succeeded in looking more like the twins than like Arthur and Ron Weasley. Harry and Draco had been watching this from the other side of the table, and now started laughing very hard. Hermione and Ron gave them steely looks that threatened death, and immediately they both quieted. 

            "Mrs. Weasley, could I have a cup of tea?" Harry asked with a nervous glance at Hermione. 

            "Yes, me too," Draco added, with a look in Ron's direction.

            "Of course, dears," Molly said, having no idea of what they really were trying to do.

            "Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Hermione said, trying to stay in good aspects of conversation. Actually, I'm not only here to look for Ginny, the Ministry reassigned us with that after we found Harry, but I wanted to spend time with friends I haven't been able to see for a while."

            "That's good," Mr. Weasley said, giving Ron another look. "How are your parents?"

            "They're a bit shaken up by all this business, but other than that I'm sure they're doing alright."

            Mr. Weasley nodded in understanding, and Hermione had been wondering when he was going to ask them about her parents; he was obsessed with muggles. "Lunch!" Mrs. Weasley called, and walked over to the table, carrying a tray of delicious food. Ron grinned expectantly, and the twins came once again hurtling downstairs to join them.

*~~~*~~~*~~~*

            Along with the twins came their ambitious ideas and news about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They'd been discussing it for the last hour at least, with several helpings of food and usual Weasley happenings, which weren't all that usual to most families. 

"Oh, the Hogsmeade store is doing fantastically; we're making great profit by it. In fact, we were thinking of planting one in London, if it works out, weren't we, George?" Fred was saying, his mouth full of turkey sandwich.

"We were. Advancements have been skyrocketing. If London's store does well, we're going to continue with one in Paris." His mouth was full of corned beef, the sandwiches Ron had decided to avoid. Hermione herself was munching on a BLT, custom-made by Mrs.Weasley. So, since it was the muggle way, Mr. Weasley also insisted on having one.  

Harry was thoroughly thrilled with the twins' joke store and was speaking animatedly with them. Ron looked confused about it, but Hermione was ahead of him. She had realized it in fifth year, when suddenly the twins had bought new dress robes for Ron. Fred, George, and Ron had never really been that close. They were always annoying one another and whatnot. It had been very evident. Harry suddenly didn't feel so bad about the money he'd received for the Tournament. Harry had given the money to the twins, on the condition that they would buy dress robes for Ron. It was very kind of him. Hermione had never told Ron this, of course, because Ron would have been very sensitive about it, and gotten upset. They didn't need that. But it certainly seemed that Harry had been funding Fred and George since then, and it had paid off.

"Congratulations, then! That's very good. What new products have you got? Other than **Exploding Snape!, that is. I loved it, by the way," Harry was saying. **

In about ten minutes, the heavy lunch was finished, and the topic of conversation was quick transforming from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to quidditch, and who was going to win the World Cup. Hermione's stomach lurched with the thought of Viktor. Tears appeared in her eyes, and Ron looked at her in curiosity. Then in realization, he interrupted the conversation loudly, saying, "Er, I think we should check out Ginny's room now." He gave Hermione an uneasy glance.

"You're right," Harry said, wiping his mouth with his napkin and standing up. "We have a job to do. But it was nice to relax for a little while." 

"Mrs. Weasley, your cuisine is delicious. Exquisite. Thank you for the wonderful meal," Draco said, also standing up. Hermione and Ron knew he said it genuinely, but they also knew he didn't want to be on the Weasleys bad side, as he formerly had been. Mrs. Weasley blushed_, so that's where they get it from, Hermione thought, and smiled at him warmly._

"Why, thank you dear, that's very sweet of you."

 Mr. Weasley looked surprised at Draco for how he was behaving, but still tried to discern what he was really like.

They climbed the stairs, as though they were going up to Ron's bedroom like they used to during summers spent at the Burrow, but stopped about halfway there, at a door with a neat little plaque on it very similar to Ron's indeed, but it said _Virginia's Room, and was adorned with little butterflies and flowers. Harry opened the door, and they stepped into the homey little room, looking around. It was neat and tidy, she had all of her books stacked nicely in her bookcase, some of the older ones were __How To Charm Your Own Sweetheart,__ Why Don't Heroes Like Red Hair?,__ 666 Beauty Tips for the Common Witch, and__ A Collection of Short Romance Stories. Here and there were stray issues of Witch Weekly also, and then there were some newer books and magazines, such as __Quidditch and Quodpot International Gazette, __Quidditch Through The Ages, __Practical Defense Charms and Enchantments, and __How To Become A Quidditch Star. Hermione assumed that these were probably not bought by her brothers for her, after she saw the small grin on Harry's face when he glanced at the bookcase. Her clothes, some old comfortable hand-me-downs and some newer, more flattering robes (again, presumed to be from outside the family) were folded and hung in the closet. There was nothing odd about the room. _

However, being a seeker, Harry had a knack for seeing things other people didn't. Or, then again, maybe he just knew a lot more about Ginny than the rest of them. He looked around, observing the room. A stray breeze blew through the slightly open window, and Hermione shivered involuntarily. Ron looked at her with an expression to ask her if she needed anything. Harry saw this, and his eyes lit up. _Here we go, he's found something, Hermione thought._

"Ron, did you get Ginny's cloak back from the Ministry after they found it?"

Ron scratched his head. "Well, yeah, of course. It's right there, on the back of the door."

Harry walked over to the door and removed the cloak from its hook. He held it in his hands, looked at it, brought it to his cheek and closed his eyes, and smelled it. A small tear fell from his eye and disappeared into the cloak's heavy fabric. Ron looked away, his face etched with grief and worry. Hermione looked at him with pity, and then gave him a hug and a pat on the back, holding him tenderly in her arms. "We'll find her," she murmured. He trembled at her embrace, seemed almost startled that she would do such a thing. They were both confused. _What's going to happen? Hermione suddenly let him go, and hurried to give Harry a hug also. He welcomed it gratefully, with a brotherly arm around her. Draco looked lonely in the corner, watching this, his hands in his pockets. Hermione smiled at him, and pulled back from Harry to give Draco a hug. He hugged her back, as though he was trying to learn how to do so. _

With a small laugh, he said, "You're ridiculous, Granger, like the main character in a crappy romance novel." (A/N: Very funny, Draco. Not!) Hermione looked at him steelily, and walked away from him, grumbling about how inconsiderate he'd always been. Ron couldn't help a grin.

Meanwhile, Harry had been staring at the robe again, turning it in his hands, examining it for evidence. A piece of paper fell out of it and glided to the floor. They stared at it, as if expecting something to happen. Hermione picked it up and looked over the old piece of parchment; it was just starting to turn yellow. Obviously, it had been there for a few months. Ron took out his wand and declared, "show yourself," to the paper…nothing happened. He tried more than a dozen other spells with no effect. 

"That doesn't seem to be working," Draco said pointedly.

"Thank you, I didn't notice. It was at least worth a try," Ron replied defensively. 

"Boys." Hermione muttered, rolling her eyes. She took Ginny's revealer from the desk drawer and decided to try her luck. She rubbed at the paper furiously, but still it remained blank. Ron gave an indignant snort, and Draco sneered derisively. Hermione scowled, shoved the parchment into Harry's hand, and stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly.

Harry looked at the paper for a moment, looked around Ginny's room, and his eyes lit up again. _Is it just me, or is he either genius or clueless? He took a quill, dipped it in the inkwell, and wrote on the paper. _

**Ginny?******

 They waited in anticipation for something to happen. And it did. Slowly, the ink faded from the parchment, and was replaced with an answer.

_            **Who is this? It replied, the writing was hurried and tense, flying onto the page. They could now talk to Ginny. **_

            **It's me, Harry!**

**            _ I knew you would find it! _**

**Ginny, are you alright? Where are you?**

**_I'm okay. I'm in a tiny room, a sort of cell, and a mean old man brings me my food every day. There are no windows, Harry. I want to get out of here._**

Harry gave them a half anxious, half excited look, and turned back to the writing.

**I need you to tell me everything you remember, Gin. Can you do that?**

**_I think so, just wait a moment._**

They waited, glaring intensely at the seemingly insignificant scrap of paper.

~_Evyfleur___


	14. The Trials of Attraction

**Chapter 14**

**Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Chewy and Han Solo, the two greatest partners and gamblers in the universe. By the way, let the wookie win. Oh, and of course, it has to also be dedicated to Hermione Weasley, Bumpersticker86, and my buddies Brian and Jeremy. Sorry this took me so long, that fierce wild beast called school has been attacking me, and all I'm left with for a weapon is a pen and scrap of paper. But as Shakespeare said, _"The pen is mightier than the sword." Actually, either would be fine for my preferences. _**

**Hermione Weasley- Thank you for the reviews, bestest buddy! Yes, I am, in fact, updating my story like you asked. I love Draco, isn't he the cuddliest little guy? Well, perhaps not so…cuddly, but, you know what I mean. Yes, the Ron and Arthur face is awesome, Arthur is one of my favorite characters; he has to be. Well, actually, all of the Weasleys are my favorite in one way or another. Now, about Ginny: I do, in fact have a location as you will see here, and I hope you like it. Another thing, I FOUND A SONG!!! YAY!!! But you will just have to wait to see what it is, thank you very much. Have fun reading!******

**CurlsofGold- Yes, I must admit, I like to keep my readers in suspense. That way they continue to read! Well, thank you for the review, and please keep reviewing, I love to hear from you!**

**Anyana- It's great to hear from you again! I was hoping you'd like this chapter. I think Ginny is very cute, don't you? I just can't stand the thought of she and Harry not ending up together, it would be a tragedy. Please, keep reading and reviewing, here's MORE!**

**Allie- Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like my story! Here's to save you from that cliffhanger. Please, continue to review!**

**bumpersticker86-**** I'm so happy that you enjoy my story! It's great to have such an awesome reviewer! Here's the next chapter, and I hope you like it! Please, add any constructive criticism you'd like to, I enjoy hearing ways I can improve my writing. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: *Tech member enters from stage right and hands Evyfleur (who is only holding a pen) a long, sharp sword, winks at the audience, and exits stage left.* Alright Warner Bros., I've had enough of you. Leave the Theater right now, or I will be forced to become violent. Whoever agrees with me gets a sword, too! *half of the audience cheers* Quiet! *they stop cheering* I offer this bit of text to the Great J.K.Rowling, who wrote Harry Potter 1-4, and hopefully, is working hard on number five.**

**The Trials of Attraction **

_The curtain is pulled away quickly, to stop any unnecessary suspense, and the audience is faced with a tense room, where Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Ron wait for a response from Ginny._

            The silence of awaiting Ginny's reply was thick with anxiety. Harry sat at her desk, looking at the blank parchment, nervously running his fingers through his untidy hair. Draco stepped over to the window, pulled back the curtains, and leaned on the sill with one hand. He stared out at the lawn intently, but that obviously wasn't the subject on his mind, unless he was still regretting how he used to mock the near poverty of the Weasleys. Ron sat at the end of Ginny's bed with his hands on his knees. He looked like he was gnawing on his lip. His brow was wrinkled in worry and concentration. Hermione sighed, looking at them. She glanced at the bookcase, and pulled out a volume on beauty charms. She skimmed through it, but only read the sections that could interest her enough…that was, hardly any. 

            Suddenly, the door flew open, and Percy looked around at the company excitedly. 

            "Hello! It's-"

            "Shhhh!"

            They all chided him to be quiet, and he promptly shut his mouth, turned a light shade of violet, and raised his eyebrows in question. Ron got up, an expression of annoyance with his older brother on his face, _hmm, the Percy Weasley face, Hermione thought. Ron dragged Percy out of the room, and the door slammed behind them. All three in the room winced. Harry looked at Hermione and smiled slightly. __Ah, yes, he remembers it, too. Hermione smiled back. _

            "What?" Draco said, looking from one to the other.

            "Nothing," they said, Harry turning back to the parchment, Hermione to her book. Draco shook his head and looked out the window again. Five minutes later, after a few angry outbursts, Ron reentered the room, fixing his shirt collar and sitting down on the bed. Apparently, he had gotten Percy to leave. 

            "I wonder what's taking Ginny so long to respond," Hermione said. 

            "She might have a lot to say, or, well, who knows what could happen there," Ron replied, looking at Hermione with darkened blue eyes. Her eyes started to water and she turned back to her book once again. 

            "She's replied."

            They all jumped at Harry's statement, and hurried over to see what she had written.

            **_Well, it all began when I had finished talking to you and saw the Death Eaters take you away. I set up this paper; after my experience with Tom, and making them at work occasionally, it was easy to do such a thing. It was only in case of an emergency, though._**

**_            Ron leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Ginny used to also work for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad when she had spare time." Hermione looked up at him. He was very close indeed, she realized, since they had all squeezed around to see what Ginny had said. She turned back to the paper, a blush tinting her cheeks. Draco looked up to see Ron. _**

"Really? I always thought she looked quite like a Weasley." 

            **_Anyway, I told Mum that I was going to see Ron, and then I left. You see, I wanted to tell Ron because he's your best friend, and he knows everything about you. If he didn't know what happened, I knew he would help anyway. Ron's always been like that. I miss him, Harry. I miss both of you._**

**_            Hermione reached back and gave Ron's hand a slight squeeze. He backed away a little. __What's wrong with him? Hermione wondered frustratedly. _**

            **_But on my way to see him, I had to walk through the forest; it's special Unspeakable requirements for security. We all know, though, that there's always a death eater infiltrated somewhere about the ministry. The Death Eaters were waiting for me when I got to the crossroads. I knew what was going to happen, so I put one of my papers into my cloak pocket and threw my cloak to the ground._**

**_            I tried to use my wand against them, but I was just no match. It was terrible, Harry. They were so powerful, so evil. Almost as bad as Dementors.  After they captured me, all I can remember is darkness. And this little room, I have no idea where it is. I'm so sorry Harry._**

**_            Harry looked long and hard at the piece of paper sitting in front of him. That wasn't very helpful. They knew what had happened, and they knew that she was alright…presumably. But where she was, well, that was the mystery. Harry's right hand was poised over the paper. He narrowed his eyes. A drip of ebony ink dripped from the tip of his quill to the paper, and disappeared. Then he made up his mind, and wrote something out._**

            **Do you remember what any of the death eaters looked like?**

            The page remained blank for a moment, and then:

            **_Yes. One of them had a silver hand._**

**_            Was he the leader, Gin?_**

**            _I think so, yes._**

**_            They all looked up in triumph. Wormtail was leading the death eaters to do the kidnapping of Ginny. That gave them a trail. If only they could get a bit more information…but there was more writing now._**

            **_Someone's coming, I can't talk anymore. Wait for me!_**

            **We will, Harry wrote back, hurriedly.**

~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*

            An hour ticked by slowly, as they awaited the reply of dear Ginny. Ron looked up from his resumed position on the foot of the bed, fifteen minutes later, to ask if anyone was thirsty. Harry and Draco shook their heads sullenly. Hermione looked up hopefully.

            "I'm a bit thirsty. Why don't I join you to get a drink in the kitchen?"

            "That would be good," Ron replied, nodding at Hermione. As they got up and left, Harry and Draco couldn't help shooting each other a glance of covert knowledge about their two friends.

            Ron and Hermione both let out a long breath when they had left Ginny's room. Then they both looked at each other, and Hermione smiled slightly. "There's a lot of pressure in there."

            "I suppose so," Ron said, looking at the floor, suddenly quite interested in what appeared to be a piece of debris from a practical joke of Fred and George. _But how did it get down here? Those twins, they're always up to something. Ron started to go downstairs, and Hermione followed, biting her lip at the discomfort of the situation. _

            They were about halfway down the stairs, when Ron suddenly stopped, and turned around to face her. 

            "'Mione, it can't, I mean, I don't want…Hermione, I need y-…"

           Hermione looked at him expectantly. He looked at her with a lost face. _He's never going to say it, is he? He can't. She threw her arms around Ron and started to sob. Ron hugged her back, and ran his hands through her hair a little bit, saying, "it's alright 'Mione, it's gonna be okay. We'll find her." But he had started to sound a little bit unsteady himself. They sat down, right there on the stairs, and continued to hug each other tightly, for fear that if they let one another go, they would be separated forever._

"Shh, it's alright 'Mione, it's alright. We're all here. The trio's back together again. Remember, remember in our third year, when Buckbeak was going to be executed, but even though we had all been in an argument, we got back together again to help each other out?" Hermione quieted at this statement.

"You mean," she said, "when _you and __I were arguing about Crookshanks and Scabbers, and __you apologized and said you would help me with the case? I remember that." She hugged him tighter still. _

"Yeah," Ron sighed, "I guess I shouldn't have stopped Crookshanks from trying to eat him after all. We might never be in this situation if that hadn't happened."

"Oh, Ron, you know that might not be true. He could have gotten any other person to be his helper in coming back to human form, Wormtail just happened to be the one who got to him first." Hermione finally pulled away from him, and Ron looked disturbed that she was no longer in his arms. 

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Ron lied, looking away, brow furrowed.

            Hermione leaned toward him a little bit, hoping he knew what she meant. Ron looked up at her again, and their eyes caught. "Ron," Hermione said, "about that snowball fight…" 

            "Yes?" Ron said, whispering now, their faces inches apart. 

            "Did you mean to-"

            "Mean to what?" Fred suddenly said.

            "Did you kiss her, ickle Ronniekins?" George taunted.

            You're getting pretty cozy on those stairs, I must say."

            "They are, aren't they, Fred?"

            "Yes, yes, oh, most definitely."

            _So that's what that was, Hermione thought, pulling out her wand and pointing it at the twins menacingly. "That was not funny. Go! Now, you two or I'll curse you until you're out of the joke business." _

            "Yeah," Ron said, taking his wand out, "I'd listen to her."

            "Well, of course _he would," George said, sauntering off with his brother. _

            "Those two are worse than Peeves," Ron said, putting his wand away again, and continuing down the stairs as though nothing had happened. Hermione nodded reluctantly, and they reached the kitchen without any further conversation.  

            "What would you like to drink?" Ron asked, once Hermione had taken a seat at the small kitchen table, where Mr. Weasley was still reading his paper. 

"Erm, I think I'll have a cup of tea."

            "One teaspoon of sugar with milk instead of cream?" Ron asked as he got two heavy, white mugs out of the kitchen cabinets. 

            "Yes, please. How did you know that?" Hermione replied. Mr. Weasley's newspaper rustled. They both looked at him. It stopped rustling.

            "Oh, well, I guess is just kind of stuck in my brain after being in school together."

            "Oh, alright. Would you like a snack?" Hermione said, getting up. She hated to be idle while others were doing something. 

            "Sure, I'll have a snack. But you aren't hungry."

            "No. You are, though." Mr. Weasley's newspaper rustled a little more loudly this time.

            They succeeded to prepare tea and snacks for each other while Mr. Weasley's paper shaked intermittently at the comments they made to themselves. Then they sat down and talked for a while about Ginny, and how they hoped they would find her soon. Ron stuffed his turkey sandwich into his mouth. A dab of mustard was still evident on his cheek. 

            Hermione rolled her eyes and picked up her napkin to wipe it off for him.

"Ron, learn to be neat when you eat your food," she said, leaning over and dabbing at his face. 

"What?" He said through a mouthful of turkey. "I'm neat." 

Hermione sighed in exasperation.

Mr. Weasley's head finally appeared from behind the paper, and innocent smile on his face. "Hermione, dear, would you mind making me a turkey sandwich?"

After both Weasleys had finished eating their meals, and Hermione had helped them clean themselves up, Mr. Weasley looked at Hermione very seriously. 

"Hermione," he said, "I'd like to have a talk with you before you leave this house." 

"Okay, Mr. Weasley." 

"Fa-, erm, nevermind." He said, going back to reading.

Ron scowled at his father. "Come on, we'd better get back upstairs," he said. But before they could even get up, Draco slid into the room, his hair messed up and an excited expression on his face. "She's written again." He said, shortly. They all ran back upstairs to see what it was that Ginny had said.

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~*

Harry and Ginny had been writing back and forth for a few minutes now, so they only got to see the last few statements made. 

**_That mean old man, jus came here and gave me my supper. He says were going to leave in a few days. _**

**What do you mean, leaving? Where are you going?**

**_I have no idea, Harry. He only said that we're leaving in two days, and that the old man's boss is nervous and angry. Harry, I'm so scared. I want to go home. I want to see Mom and Dad, and Ron._**

**You want to talk to Ron, Gin? He's right here. **

**_Oh, yes, please! He's there?_**

Harry handed the quill to Ron who greeted the opportunity with great enthusiasm. 

_Hi Ginn! I'm so glad that you're safe. Don't worry too much. We're gonna come and get you, we promise. Hermione says hi, too. _

**_Oh, Ron. I've missed you so much. When will you find me? I want to go home Ron, I don't want to be alone any longer._**

_We'll find you before you have to leave that place. Ginn, be the brave girl that I've always known, do you promise? We're going to come and get you soon, but you have to be strong and brave. Promise you can do that for me Ginn, okay?_

**_I promise, Ron. I can't wait to see all of you. I'm tired now, I'm going___****to go to bed. I love you, Ron. Tell Mum, Dad, Hermione, and Harry that I love them too, okay?**

_Okay, I will. Be careful, Ginn._

**_I will. Good night._**

_Good night._

Ron looked up at them with a sad smile on his face.

"Let's go," said both Harry and Ron at the same time.

"Where?"  Hermione said, wondering if they both knew where she was. 

"To Wormtail's house. Who else would be nervous and angry, but a Death Eater? I think it has to do with the deaths of the three members."

"Yeah," Ron added to what Harry had just said, "Wormtail would be nervous about telling Voldemort that they were dead. He's angry because he had to spend all that time after he came back, gaining the trust of those three, and now they're dead. And he has to pay the consequences."

Draco looked convinced with this reason, even though it didn't really help him to have Lucius, Crabbe, and Goyle mentioned again, and Hermione thought that was logical enough for her. It would have been more believable if it perhaps was written in a book, but that would have to do for now. 

After discussing the issue further, they hurried downstairs to talk to Arthur and Molly, and then to leave for Wormtail's house. As they left Ginny's room to venture downstairs, Ron gave Hermione a face of hope that she wished she could ensure.

~Evyfleur


	15. Interrogations and Debates

**Chapter 15**

**Author's Note: Wow, I've really been turning these chapters out quick, I'm quite surprised. I'm glad that all of you enjoyed my last chapter, and please continue to read, unless you're an H/H fan, in that case, please do not read his story, for your own sake, and because I despise you anyway. Thanks! Anyway, those of us who ride on the good ship R/H, have fun reading this chapter! P.S. This chapter is dedicated to one of my closest friends at boarding school, Mary. Go Mary! Oh, and another dedication to …Ron! Well, it's kind of hard to say this, because he's not really Ron, that's just an alias, but he's just as awesome! Yay, Ron!!!**

**Disclaimer: To whom it my concern, **

            I do not own the rights of this wondrous phenomenon called Harry Potter, but I do, in fact, own the plot of this specific fan fiction. This does not concern you, Warner Brothers. I would put this letter down as soon as possible, and walk away slowly. Harry Potter does in fact belong to its great creator, J.K. Rowling.

Cheers,

Evyfleur

P.S. This message will self-destruct in five seconds. I told you to put it down. 

**CurlsofGold****- I know, I hate the twins sometimes also, but, well, that just adds to the suspence. Don't you love it? Mwahahahaha! Thank you for the awesome review and please continue to read!**

**bumpersticker86- Haha, I know! The twins are always there!!! It's Weasley time! Do you know where your children are? Thank for the great review, I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but here it is for you anyway! I'll keep working on the next one! Oh, yes! Go G/H!!!! And again, the Simpsons are awesome! Hope you like this chapter!**

**Anyana****- Thank you so much for that wonderful review! I did have a great day when I read it! I hope you like this chapter, too! It's a little bit short, but…well, school calls! Have a good day!**

**Hermione Weasley- Alright, alright! Here's the next chapter for you! Be patient! I'm writing as fast as I possibly can! This chapter's a little shorter than most of the others, but I have it written anyway! Btw, I loved the LOTR joke, that was really funny! Hahahahahahaha!!!**

**Rad2584- As you can see, I dedicated this chapter to you, and another person, but, I hope you like this chapter just as much as you liked everything else! Talk to you soon, Ron!!!**

_Interrogations and Debates_

_The readers start to become annoyed with the red curtain that always pulls away. They are prepared this time, though, and pull out their handy-dandy scissors to shred it. That feat accomplished, they sit back down at their seats in front of the computer and continue to watch as the four people run downstairs to talk to the Weasley parents._

            They hurried downstairs to the kitchen, where they were faced with the sight of Molly weeping silently. Arthur was telling her to hush, and held her in his arms consolingly. Both looked up at the four friends hopefully, and Mrs.Weasley made haste to clean her tearstained face with a napkin from the table. Mr.Weasley patted his wife on the back once more, and turned to them. 

            "So, did you find anything?" He asked with a hint of anxiety in his voice, as though he didn't want to have to be the one to ask. He ran a hand through his thinning hair. 

            Harry looked at both of them, back and forth for a few moments, and Hermione could tell that he was wondering how much he could or should explain. On top of that, they really wanted to get on the road to Wormtail's house, or whatever wizard method led to his house. Ginny would be gone from there in only a few days, and it worried Hermione greatly. Ron seemed to share her concern, she realized, as he took her hand and squeezed it tightly, giving her a secret glance. _If only we could just admit our feelings toward each other. We wouldn't be in this damn position. I l-…I can't even say it to myself. How could I say it to him? It will never be. Ron gave her hand another squeeze, almost in response to what she was thinking. _

Draco, while watching Harry try to figure out what to say, and seeing this small exchange of affection (?) between Ron and Hermione, decided to speak up. He wouldn't be useful otherwise, he decided.

"I'll go fetch our cloaks," he said in a modest manner, and with a half-smile to the Weasleys, strode briskly from the small kitchen. Harry took this as an opportunity to start speaking, but he looked quite afraid of what he was about to say. Sighing deeply, he began, in a very forward way. 

"Wormtail, we have reason to believe, is holding Ginny hostage." He said.

Molly gasped and broke down when Harry said this, and cried "Peter Pettigrew!" in a strained and angry voice. Mr.Weasley frowned deeply; his wrinkles making him look older and more worn, as he was indeed. Harry nodded sadly, and sat down next to Mrs.Weasley, putting an arm around her. Hermione noticed something as he did this: _Harry has grown so much since we graduated. He's, well, he's now taller and he doesn't seem like such a child. This was true. Harry had grown tall and strong since he had gotten back his strength from leaving that terrible room. Although he wasn't built like Ron or Draco, he looked much healthier than before. As Hermione mused on this, Ron's hand held hers more tightly. _

"Why is she being held hostage?" Arthur asked in confusion. Of course he would ask such a question. He worked for the ministry, and could see most possible motives for most of the Dark Lord's actions. He knew that they couldn't possibly want money; all the Death Eaters knew that the Weasley family was flat broke. They couldn't be holding her hostage because of his profession. He had the most boring job in the whole Ministry, according to his children. It couldn't be because of Fred and George, Bill, Charlie or Percy, and Molly didn't involve herself with too much. Ginny did have quite a close relationship with Ron, but the death eaters only knew that he helped his brothers out in their joke shop, no one but immediate family and close…extremely close friends, knew that he was Unspeakable. Although Ginny had been good friends with Hermione, he didn't know how that would effect their decisions. There was only one person left…Harry.

"It's because of me, Mr.Weasley. I'm so sorry, Sir. We, Ginny and I, that is, have been writing and talking with each other…a lot. I believe they think that if they…well, if they could take away from me the one person I truly love, I would come after them and try to find her, making it possible for them to catch me. I'm hoping that they're only half right. I want to get her back and bring her home for you. And for us." 

Harry was hesitant about saying all of this, and looked around nervously after he'd done so. Ron gave Hermione a questioning glance which she returned at exactly the same moment. They couldn't help but smile a bit at this. And Harry's declaration of love and ambitions for Ginny did not have the effect they had been expecting. Hermione had envisioned both of them acting very awkward and formal about the situation, but that wasn't what happened.

Molly looked up at Harry hopefully, and stopped her sobs. With an encouraging sniffle, she gave him an expression of pure and desperate joy. It was somewhat ironic, during their current dilemma. 

"Oh, Harry, dear! I'm so happy that you're in love! This will be perfect, Arthur, can't you see it. Harry will bring back our little Ginny, and they'll get married and Harry will be like a second son!" she said, patting Harry's cheek. Hermione felt a stab of pain at what Mrs.Weasley had said, though. _Everything will be perfect when Ginny__and__Harry __get married, is that right? Well what about Ron and, and, well, what about Ron? He already is their son! She gave Ron's hand a sympathetic squeeze. He smiled half-heartedly._

"You don't know how much this means. How wonderful," Molly continued, fawning over Harry. 

Draco walked back into the room, surveyed everyone's expressions, and began to look confused. He was about to inquire about what had just happened, when Ron gave him a glance that obviously told him not to ask. So Draco put his question away for a moment, and gave everyone his or her cloak. Hermione neatly fastened hers. Draco made sure that his had no wrinkles, and draped it carefully over his shoulders. Harry buttoned it at the top and made sure he had access to his wand. Ron haphazardly swung his around his neck. Hermione had been trying to avoid that chat Mr. Weasley had insisted upon, and it looked like she was going to escape the dragon unscathed, when…

"Oh, Hermione! May I talk to you?"

"Of course, Mr.Weasley." Hermione said politely. Harry, sensing the negative feelings she had toward this conversation, quickly said, "We'll just wait outside. Don't be too long, Hermione, we really need to get going." 

"I will," said Hermione as convincingly as she could, throwing Harry a grateful smile. Ron walked over and hugged his parents' goodbye, and they affectionately bade him farewell, with a bundle of kisses from Molly. Draco shook Mr.Weasley's hand as friendly as he could, said a warm goodbye, and the same with Mrs.Weasley, except that he placed a small kiss on her hand, that she blushed about. Harry got the most attention of all, of course, receiving hugs, kisses, smiles and thanks over and over again, until he stepped out the door, waving energetically, trying to escape the Weasley parents. 

Ron and Draco looked at each other amusedly, and then followed Harry out the door. Hermione looked after them and reluctantly turned back to the Weasleys. She sat down across from them, smiling as politely as she could. They looked at her expectantly, until Mrs.Weasley jabbed Arthur with her elbow. "Ow!" Mr.Weasley looked at her once again with an innocent face, and nervously started to say, "Well, erm, Hermione, I, we just wanted to talk to you about-…um, what has been-…I mean to say, we wanted to know about your current-" Molly interrupted him impatiently, and leaned across the table to look Hermione in the eye. 

"Do you fancy him, dear?"

Hermione paled, and looked at them, her eyes growing large with something like fear. Her necklace turned a very pastel blue, and she heard the door open faintly, but dismissed it as being the twins or someone of the sort. Arthur nodded at her resignedly, and Molly looked at her more intensely.

"Fancy who?" She finally asked, dreading the answer. _Is it that obvious? __How am I supposed to respond to this? Mr.Weasley scratched the bright red, thinning hair on his head. He stuttered for a moment, making a strange guttural sound, and then said, "Ron."_

Hermione bit her lip, and tried to think of something to say. She knew what to say, but she couldn't say it. _Just say it Hermione, just say yes! But what if he doesn't feel the same way? Don't say anything yet! Hermione opened her mouth to speak, to say something, anything. _

"I, well, I-I…you see, I'm, I, it's just that-" 

Ron walked back into the kitchen at that very moment, and looked expectantly at her. "Done yet?" He asked nonchalantly. "Because we have to get going. I mean, if we don't get there on time, well, I don't want to know what will happen, at the moment." Hermione turned back to the Weasleys with a longing face. _Please let me go. Oh, please! She did not want to be held to that pressure. They nodded at her, and gestured for her to go ahead. She smiled in relief. After hugging and kissing each of them goodbye, Ron Waved to his parents, grabbed Hermione's hand, and dragged her out of the kitchen. _

"Thank you for coming to get me."

"I saw that your necklace was becoming whiter, so I wanted to make sure you were alright. So I couldn't help but hear what they were asking you."

"You were eavesdropping on us?" Hermione asked, a little bit upset. "Were you waiting to hear what I would say?" She continued, pulling her hand from Ron's, and crossing her arms over her chest. 

"I did no such thing!" Ron said hotly. "Not on purpose anyway! I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"I can't believe you! You know, you have some nerve! Ronald Weasley, if you ever-"

But Ron interrupted, with a violent finger pointing at his own chest. "I was the one who got you out of there before you had to answer the question, didn't I? I pitied you!"

"Pity? You pitied me, Ron? And so you just had a late entrance then, did you?"

"No! I was just…confused! That's all!" He turned away from her angrily.

"Really," she replied skeptically. "You were confused." Hermione turned away from him also, and put on her cloak. The wind was getting colder, it seemed. _Oh no. We're outside. We've just been shouting at each other at the top of our lungs, in front of Harry and Draco. Oops. She squinted in regret. _

Harry and Draco stood watching the argument they knew would have to occur at some point in time, another classic "Ron and Hermione row". It must be a term in every household now, Harry thought with slight satisfaction. Why couldn't they just come to their senses and say what they needed to say? It would save a lot of trouble. But that wasn't the function of Ron. He was too stubborn, and Hermione…well, Hermione was Hermione. But speaking of such things, Harry took Ginny's piece of paper out of his pocket, just to check to see if she had written back to him yet, or, no, she hadn't written. Harry now realized how much he missed Gin, and talking to her only whetted his appetite to see her again. 

Draco was fighting the urge to yawn. He had seen one too many of these arguments, and to him they looked pointless. Did they somehow derive pleasure from yelling at each other very rudely? Draco wasn't the nicest or smartest person in the world, but if Ron and Hermione were, you know, it just didn't make sense to him that they would be arguing. What strange people. He wanted to start going. "We need to get going now," Harry said, putting away the paper.

"Fine," said both Ron and Hermione and the same time, glowering at each other. Hermione looked back to Harry with a superior expression, and Ron shrugged and started muttering to himself, something about a know-it-all. 


	16. A Ring of Simplicity

Chapter 16

**Author's Note:  My sincerest apologies for the lack of updates for so long. I had a lot of homework and stuff like that these past few weeks and I just couldn't find the inspiration for writing the chapter. But now I finally wrote it down on paper and after many bits of editing I think it's rather satisfactory. I ask all you readers out there in Fic-land to review for me. I live for reviews, they are…precious to me. Another note, I don't enjoy H/H shippers and such reading my story. 1) You wouldn't even like it, don't bother, and 2) I hate the concept of Harry and Hermione together. It sickens me. No offence of course.**

I hope you like this update and please let me know what you think. Good? Bad? Insane in too many ways to count on two hands and feet? 

**To my faithful reviewers: _(You might want to skip this section)_**

**CurlsofGold****- I know, they always are fighting aren't they? I just had to do that or they wouldn't be Ron and Hermione, would they? Tanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter!**

**Anyana****- Lol! I'm glad you liked it! I can't wait for that part either, though I have a lot of work to do on it. Here's a nice bit of half-fluffiness half transition material-type chapter for you, it's a bit short but still essential for the plot. Many thanks for the review and have a great holiday!**

**Bumpersticker86- Awesome! I'm glad you liked it! I hope this one satisfies you also. Thank you for the great review!**

**Hermione**** Weasley- Okay, here's the next chapter for you. I really am sorry for the long torturous delay, but it was necessary for the good of the story. You see, the first review you gave me for chapter 15 brought that fact of Draco being left out to my attention and I knew I needed to do something about it. This seemed the best solution to the problem and I had been thinking on it for a while anyway. I hope you like it and I'm very sorry for the long time it took me. By the way, I like Hermione Weasley, but hey, Ginny Malfoy is pretty cool, too. Thank you for the wonderful reviews as usual!**

**Gigaku****- Thank you so much for your awesome review! I was grinning for like a week straight. Here's the next chapter and I hope you like it, I surely do, even if it is a bit short. Please, continue to tell me what you think. **

**Mione**** Weasley- Thanks so much for the review, I really am happy about it. I got up off my arse and wrote the next chapter like you requested and I hope you like it. Please, continue to review and scold me. I deserve it. Thanks again!**

**Lady Russell Holmes- Thanks for the 100th review! Yay! How cool is that? It's cool. Anyway, I'm glad that you like the story, here's the next chapter for you. Please continue to review!******

**Chapter 16: **

_A Ring of Simplicity_

A rosy red haze fell over the group of exhausted people who were slowly making their way through the forest towards the house of Wormtail. This haze was the result of the sunset, which, though it was usually welcoming, seemed oddly sinister and uninviting this evening. Ron and Hermione still were not speaking to each other; their only communication was to send quick and nasty glares when they knew the other wasn't looking. Harry and Draco tried to make conversation every once in a while, but it always ended up stilted and short. They had already gone through the topics of weather, opinions on generic articles in the Daily Prophet, and how they were feeling at various moments while trudging through the woods.

"It always has to be the woods, doesn't it?" Draco grumbled, pulling the hems of his cloak out of the dead leaves and mud. "I'm going to fall over if we have to go much further. Please, can't we stop and rest here for the night. If we try to go on the result will only be more harm to our bodies."

Harry thought this sounded practical enough, so he decided to consult the "silent ones" he'd taken to calling them. "Ron, Hermione, what do you two think? Shall we go on or rest here?"

"Go on."

"Rest here."

Ron and Hermione shot a look so horrible at one another that Harry was frightened himself. And after all the ordeals that Harry had been through, it was not an easy feat to frighten him. 

"Okay, I think we should rest here. So I guess we'll just get an early start tomorrow. Hermione, will you start a fire for us?"

"Fine," she said shortly, and cast her special Bluebell Flame near the trunk of a large tree. The other three dropped their bags and sat down; making themselves comfortable in the dirt and twigs…it wasn't going to be fun waking up the next morning.

Hermione started reading one of her books by the fire after a Weasley sandwich dinner, but after about fifteen chapters she just couldn't stay interested in it. Ron was tormenting her. Why did they always have to fight? _It was completely his fault anyway, that's obvious. I'm not going to be the one to apologize; I have nothing to apologize for! But that look in his eyes when he didn't think she was looking at him…it was so sad. He seemed to want to be friends with her; he seemed to want to run up to her and hug her knees and beg for her affection. That was only in her mind, though. He would never do such a thing and even if he did, what would she do? __I would tell him that he's insane and should go to see Madam Pomfrey. Exactly. She could never admit it to him, that she was in love and wanted to be his…well, his… __That is enough of that, Hermione. Stop daydreaming. Silly fantasies never come true and you know it. _

With that conclusion Hermione decided to talk to Draco. She felt like he was separating himself from the group and she didn't want him to be separate. He was quite important and she realized now more than ever before how much she valued his friendship. She regretted all those fights back in school, all those unnecessary fights. She sighed as she approached him. In his hands was a simple golden ring; he was smiling at it as though waiting for something delightful to happen. When he saw her he stuffed the ring away in his pocket, but she wouldn't let him get away without telling her about it.

"How are you doing, Draco?" She asked innocently, sitting down next to him. 

"I'm a bit tired, but alright just the same, how about you?"

"Not so good. But I must ask, why are you so happy about that ring you have in your pocket? Is there something you haven't been telling us, Draco?"

His eyes widened slightly at the question she posed, and he gulped slightly. She could tell that this wasn't a matter to be taken lightly. Panic appeared in his stormy gray eyes and he stuttered, trying to find a suitable answer.

"Y-you see, th-the thing is th-that, Her-her-Hermione-" he sputtered, fidgeting with his cloak fastening, looking around wildly. She interrupted his anxious fit.

"What is it, Draco? Calm down, I promise I won't tell anyone. Please, what is it?"

            At this Draco caught his breath and stopped trying to talk. He looked down for a moment, as though there was a mystery in the soil of the forest where they were that he felt he was required to solve. She waited for him to answer her.

            "Do you swear you won't ever breathe a word to any living being? Not even your cat?" He finally demanded, looking most seriously at her. _What could be so important?_

            "I swear, as long as you aren't harming yourself or on the side of Voldemort, I'll keep your secret," she replied with the same level of somberness. He nodded.

            "When one becomes an Unspeakable," he began, "that person knows that their job description involves danger, highly magical situations, and creatures or humans that are sometimes not good in any sense. By accepting that job an automatic vow takes place. To be an Unspeakable, it is required to be isolated, not attached emotionally to anyone strongly enough for the other side to see. Attachment creates a handle for dark wizards like the Lord, well, Voldemort to seize and hold onto. That's probably why we're dealing with Ginny being kidnapped right now. Harry was openly in love with her and they knew that if they could get her; that would entice him to come and save her so they could grab him, too. 

            "He isn't an Unspeakable, though. He's allowed to have emotional attachments. People- people like Ron and I- we aren't allowed to have those, because if we do, if we do then we aren't the strong and powerful units that are one of the Ministry's best defenses against Voldemort. Do you see what I mean?"

            Hermione started to realize what he was telling her. It explained a lot that had been going on in the last few months. Before Ron had become an Unspeakable, when everyone had known that she was one of the more clever witches ever to leave Hogwarts they had been attached to Harry at the hip. What better way to get rid of two of the strongest of those in the wizarding world than to capture him? It would have been killing three birds with one stone. _But it didn't work…That was what they were doing now. __They're trying to kill five with one stone. But how did all of this tie in with the ring he was so happy to be holding? She was so carried away with her own thoughts that she didn't even realize the simple solution._

            "Yes, I understand you perfectly, but why..?"

            "Hermione, I'm married," he said, taking the ring from his pocket and showing her that it fit on his left hand.  She gasped in shock. She had never even entertained the thought that he could be…

            "I was married in secret. That was partly because of being an Unspeakable and partly because I was working for Voldemort at the time. She's a muggleborn much like yourself. I was terrified of what my Father would think, but I loved her so much. I couldn't bear to think of living my dark, cold life all by myself, fighting those terrible forces with no source of warmth. 

"She provides me with all the happiness I'll ever need, but our lives are so secret that it's painful. I wish that all of this could be over. I want to quit my job and go home to her. Whenever something bad happens or I feel helpless all I have to do is remove myself from the situation and go to her in my mind. All I have to do is think of her. I'm still sad…I'm continually sad, but knowing that she will be there for me is a tremendous comfort. I know that I need her and she needs me."

            Hermione was crying. She smiled and gave him a big hug and told him in incoherent words how much she was proud of him and how much she knew he would be okay. 

            "Oh Draco," she said, pulling back and wiping the tears from her eyes. "That's the most wonderful thing I've heard for a long time. What's she like? Do you have any children?"      

She took his cold hand and held it tightly in her own. A burden seemed to fly from her shoulders as she realized how much she had worried about him and how much she was relieved now that she knew there would always be someone there for him. It left a dark pit at the bottom of her gut, though. Her conscience was haunting her. _There's no one for me. _

"Well," he answered, a slight smile apparent on his usually morose features, "we don't have any children yet. I'm hoping we'll have the opportunity for some, though. Genevieve, that's her name, is the most beautiful, generous, and kind woman you could ever meet. Her eyes are a beautiful aqua color; her hair is not long, in fact, it's rather short and blondish-brown and it makes her look like one of those mischievous muggle pixies, not the real things. She's always cheerful and smiling and she wouldn't take no for an answer when we first met. She was determined to make friends with me and once I let my guard down we immediately fell in love." He sighed in the bliss of imagining her smiling face.

"She sounds wonderful," Hermione responded, feeling more melancholy. 

"May I share an observation I've made?" Draco asked slyly, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"Go ahead," she urged him, curiously.

"I think that Ron has the same system I do for relieving his stress, or at least it is greatly similar to mine. There's just one exception for him, and I fear that if it isn't resolved soon, it will be his undoing. I see it in his face…especially at this particular point in time. He has never really minded breaking rules, has he?" Draco asked, but only to confirm what he already knew.

"Oh no. He's never had a problem with that," Hermione said stiffly. 

"Good. Well, that was a bit of a rabbit trail off from what I was originally saying. I just wanted to say that the problem with his system is that he can think all of the time about the woman he loves and wants to share his life with, but he doesn't have that security that I do. You see? He doesn't know whether or not she loves him as well."

Hermione blanched. Did Ron love her? _Could he? Perhaps I should just go make amends with him. It was only a silly little disagreement anyway, she reasoned with herself._

"I'll talk to you a bit later," she told Draco, releasing his hand and getting up. She glanced over to where Ron was sitting. He was poking around in the fire with a stick with that hopeless, Sirius Black-ish look in his eyes again. _Those eyes should not have to hold that expression, she thought with a spurt of anger, and quickly confronted Ron with her presence, sitting down right next to him and looking straight at him. He turned to face her confusedly. _

"Yes?" He asked, seemingly a little startled.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry about the argument we had earlier today. I was being irrational. I should have been thanking you. Will you forgive me?"

He looked taken aback. "I, well, yeah! Of course I forgive you, but it wasn't only your fault. I shouldn't have heard what they were talking to you about. It was very nosy of me. So…" he continued slowly, poking at the fire again, "where's Hermione and what have you done with her?" He grinned at her to show that he was teasing. She smiled back at him and leaned closer into him, sighing. 

"It's so much better to be on civil terms with you, Ron," she said enjoyably, pulling her cloak more tightly around herself. He nodded.

"Same with you. I hate arguing with you, you know. I don't know, I think that I used to enjoy seeing you get all riled up and feisty like I had somehow betrayed human nature. It was just so easy to get at you. But I realize now that doing that was pretty stupid of me. It never helped our relationship at all."

Hermione didn't say anything to this, but she knew that he knew what she meant…it was one of those things understood only through friends. She took a peek at her watch. It was 1:48 AM and she was very tired and chilled to the core. 

"Can I sleep here tonight?" She asked meekly. "It's freezing."

Ron put his arm around her and pulled her closer to keep warm. "I thought that was a given," he said grinning, "but, sure, anytime."

She knew he was making a joke, but somehow, she didn't want it to be. How could she have fallen in love with her best friend? It was simply a mystery.


	17. Forgotten Potions

**Chapter 17:**

**Author's note: **Welcome, one and all, witches and wizards, muggles and squibs…well, maybe there are some of us who aren't welcome…*glares at Warner Bros. agents who promptly get up and leave since Evyfleur has a case of rotten fruit next to her on stage*…anyways, seeing that this is all in one sentence, I might as well keep to it, if you want to view my story, The Search for Potter (that title is rather pointless now) in an easier format, or either way, if you want to visit one of my best friend's glorious site, here is the URL: [www.geocities.com/v_yfandes/scalawag.html][1] (I highly recommend it), anyways, I'm sorry for my delay, but here is chapter seventeen and I hope you like it very much; to my faithful reviewers:

**Sylvia Malfoy- **Happy New Year! I'm glad that Draco's resolution worked out well, and I'm so happy that you enjoy my fanfic! I hope you like this next chapter, I loved writing it. Thank you so much for the awesome review!

**Fxdreams****- I know, isn't he so cute? Hope you like this chapter, thanks for the review**!****

**RonLuver****- Haha, I know! I love writing fluff between my dearest and Hermione. Of course, if they were real I would have murdered Hermione by now to keep Ron to myself. But we won't talk about that…I hope you enjoy what happens next, it was such a fun idea I couldn't resist. Thank you very much for your review!**

**CurlsofGold****- Lol! Your review makes no sense, but I think it was positive! I love that, you're quite a funny person! Thanks for your great, if unintelligible review, but I really think you'll love this chapter!**

**bumpersticker86-**** Oh, don't feel bad. The reason it was that time is because that's what time it was when I wrote that particular part, I stay up really late when trying to work on such things. I hope you like this chapter! Thank you muchly for the review! **

**SnWfLakeSwEeTy****- Oh, I love R/ Hr too! It's just so wonderful and I can't help that always being my preferred romance pair out of all of them. Hehe! Enjoy this next chapter and thank you for the review!**

**Mione**** Weasley- My dearest reviewer, how are you? I'm glad that you enjoyed the fluff I've incorporated, it's very important to me. As to Draco being a bit soft….I think it's a long process, and he goes through spurts and phases. I'm still developing my skill of writing with him, so please excuse my amateur-ness in dealing with him. As always, thank you for the wonderful review!**

**Disclaimer: **Okay, everyone, you already know the drill. First I say something wonderful and worshipful toward our great author, J.K.Rowling, and then I threaten Warner Brothers that I will KILL THEM if they read this! Thank you…have a good read.****

_Forgotten Potions_

            The next morning Hermione woke up to see Draco making breakfast and Harry looking at the map. Ron was still asleep, his head resting lightly on her shoulder. She smiled and brushed his red hair out of his face. He continued to sleep. 

            "Well, good morning," Harry said, grinning at her. "I guess you two worked everything out then, didn't you?"

            Hermione glared at him and carefully left Ron's side to eat some breakfast. Nice, crispy bacon on toast and an apple were exactly what she needed at the moment. Satisfied, Hermione started packing up her few things she had undone last night when they stopped.  Draco was finishing his own meal, and greeted her through a full mouth.

            "Morning, Granger" he tried to say.

            "Good morning Draco," she said quite politely. Harry gave her a look that clearly said, "Hey, since when does Malfoy get treated better than me?"

            "Since he stopped making silly comments about Ron and me," she said to him, getting up to take a walk. Harry looked after her, confused once again. Had he said something? Draco laughed good-naturedly and patted Harry on the back. He turned to Draco with a quizzical expression.

            "I have no idea what you did, P- Harry, but you're in her doghouse today."

            "Yeah, I guess so," he replied, taking his glasses off to clean them.

            "So," Draco continued, "have we heard anything else from Ginny yet? I hope she's in satisfactory health. From the sound of what she's telling us, she's being treated incredibly well. I've never heard of Death Eaters being so gracious towards their prisoners. They're definitely waiting for you to come and get her, if you ask me."

            Harry hastily took the piece of paper that connected him to Ginny out of his pocket to inspect it. Nothing more had been written. He sighed in despair. Draco was right about it, he knew that, but he didn't care. Gin was the person he cared most about, apart from Ron and Hermione. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. If she died, Harry wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He didn't care if he died trying to save her; as long as she was safe he would be happy.

            "I don't care whether they're waiting for me, they were right. I am going to get her. No word from her, though. It worries me a little. Well, maybe a bit more than a little. We should probably hit the road soon."

            "The road? There isn't a road in this forest and even if there was, we probably wouldn't be able to take it for Ministry safety requirements." Draco said logically. Harry rolled his eyes. What an anti-muggle. He was completely ignorant.

            "It's an expression, it's- oh nevermind. You're hopeless, Malfoy."

            "Not as hopeless as you, Potter."

            "Oh yeah? Want to bet?"

            "It depends on the bet. What do you propose?"

            "I have an idea…"

*~~~~~~~*

            Ron yawned and stretched his arms over his head. Getting up, he looked around. Where had Hermione got off? Ah, there she was. It was a beautiful morning. The butter-yellow rays of the young sun were just started to creep out from the edge of the horizon and hit the new green leaves of the ancient trees. Ron crept silently behind Hermione, taking care to not step on any branches or noisy underbrush. 

            **_Crack!_**

            He had accidentally stepped on a twig. Hermione whipped around, her wand in her hand, pointing at Ron. He held his hands up. 

            "I surrender!" He exclaimed.

            "Ron! I thought you were a Death Eater or something. Don't scare me like that! Next time you do you'll sorely regret it." Hermione held her hand to her chest so as to regain her confidence. Ron chuckled mischievously. 

            "I may not be a Death Eater, but maybe I am something else! Like a werewolf, or a vampire!" He pulled his cloak over his head and imitated a bat. "My name iz Dracula! I vant to suck your blood!" He pretended to attack her, and she swatted him away impatiently.

            "Please, Ron, stop being so irksome. And where did you hear that?"

            "From my Dad," Ron defended, disgruntled. Pulling his cloak back down, he said, "My dad used to find old muggle movies and play them on a real letefusion. Isn't that cool? I've seen Gone with the Wind, the Birds, and Casablanca, oh and Rear Window. That was real good, it had a guy named Jimmy Stuart in it that I really liked. My dad says he was a closet wizard and liked to live in the muggle world. He was in some other movie we watched, too. Something about Christmas. Ah, I don't remember now, but it was fun. Fred and George and I would sit around watching the muggle movies all summer."

            Hermione couldn't help but smile at Ron trying to show off all of his great knowledge of the muggle world. He was so cute like that sometimes. She could just imagine him telling their children stories about when he was a young boy and used to watch "old muggle movies". _What am I thinking? Don't even go that far! Children? No, Hermione, you must stop these thoughts immediately! _

"Yes, Jimmy Stuart is regarded as one of the best actors ever. That Christmas movie you mentioned is It's A Wonderful Life. Oh, that was such a well-made movie. I haven't seen it in quite a while. And it is not a letefusion, Ron, it's a television."

"Oh," Ron said, looking at his shoes. "Well, erm, maybe you can come to the Burrow after all this is over and we can watch It's A Wonderful Life together. What do you think?" 

Hermione smiled at him and they started walking back to the campsite where Harry and Draco were discussing something. "That sounds like the most fun idea I've heard since this whole ordeal began."  She could see him blush furious to the roots of his hair; though this didn't stop him from holding her hand as they walked back 

He grinned and started to sing, "Buffalo gals won't you come out tonight, come out tonight, come out tonight, Buffalo gals won't you come out tonight…"

"And dance by the light of the moon," she picked up, laughing. (A/N: Sorry, if you don't understand that, it is a song that they sing in It's A Wonderful Life, you'll just have to watch the movie to understand.)

_I wish that we could have a wonderful life. What will happen when we find Ginny? I'll probably just go home to my apartment and we'll fade out of friendship again. That can't happen…I can't let it happen._

"So what will happen after that?" Hermione asked him, breaking off the song.

"After what?" he asked, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

"After we watch It's A Wonderful Life. When we find Ginny our case together…and with Draco and Harry will be over. We'll all go back home and be back to normal. Right?"

Ron gave her a worried look.

 "Oh no you don't. You aren't going to fade into obscurity while I'm still around.  You'll get at least one owl every day from me when you go home, though Pig will hate me for it, and when you have free time you'll be staying at the Burrow with us or with Harry, or Draco. There's no way we're going to let what occurred in the past happen again. I just won't let it. And neither will you. We've been through a whole lot in these past weeks, almost as much as was usual at Hogwarts, and it's changed us from the people we were at graduation. I think that Dumbledore has us working together for a reason. I don't know what reason other than getting us to be friends again, but there's something he isn't telling us."

Hermione was surprised by the fervor of his answer. He really did want her to be around. She wanted to be with him for her whole life, though she wouldn't allow herself to tell him that. If he wanted to be with her he would say something. _He's always been straightforward like that. But that could mean that he never had said something about it and didn't intend to. __Maybe he really only likes me as a friend…_

As Ron and Hermione approached, Draco and Harry looked up from their discussion. With a look at each other they both noticed something. Draco gave Harry a glance that said he was right and he subtly rubbed his fingers together, took a notebook out of his pocket and wrote something down, grinning widely.

"Holding hands, eh?" Draco teased them. Immediately they dropped the grip and both blushed beet-red.

"We better hurry up and get to Wormtail's house today. I don't want to get there to find a deserted house, if you take my meaning." Harry said, gathering his belongings and putting out the fire. 

They all agreed with this and hastened to get their possessions together so they could "hit the non-existent road" as Draco was now saying. The walk was long and hard, and it began to rain as they were trudging along. Mud was all over the bottom of their cloaks and robes now, and Hermione was chilled to the bone. A harsh wind blew continually through the trees, making them sway dangerously. Every once in a while a loud crack of thunder could be heard, it wouldn't be until the nighttime that they could start to see the lightning bolts. 

After a few hours of walking, the house they had been searching for came slowly into view. All of them were soaked. Draco looked very put out at the fact that his hair was no longer held very well by his gel, and his magnificent, expensive fur-lined cloak was getting ruined. Ron was frowning deeply; his hair was scraggly, hanging over his blue eyes. He didn't seem to care too much about the rain though. He just looked exhausted after hiking. Ron's second-hand cloak looked like it always had, and it still would after the rain attacked it.

Harry's hair was being exceptionally disobedient in this weather, and his thin fragile figure was accentuated in the rain, making him look like a drowned animal. But as always, Harry got that determined look on his face, and as tired as Hermione was, she knew that he would insist upon going in there tonight and frankly, she agreed with his choice. 

When they reached the edge of the forest, Harry looked to the others with a puzzled yet hopeful face. He needed their help with this, as he knew already, but he also knew that this was mainly his quest. She was his, and he would not fail to rescue her. 

"How are we going to get in without suspicion or capture? Does anyone have an idea? Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head gravely. She was too worried and tired to think about it at the moment. She looked to Draco and Ron for a solution. Draco shrugged with no answer for them, but surprisingly, Ron straightened up, a hand in his pocket. 

'Fear," he said simply. Draco seemed very annoyed by his suggestion, and addressed him with a raised eyebrow.

"Elaborate please," he remarked.

Ron moved his focus to his hand that was in his cloak pocket. He took out three small vials out of his pocket and held them out for the others to see. Hermione recognized them almost at once.

"Oh!" she cried, but quieted herself. "The Polyjuice potion. We never had a chance to use it!"

"Right. But there is only just enough for three of us, an hour each. That gives us the time to distract whoever is in there while one of us gets Ginn out of there," he said with extreme somberness. 

"I will find Ginny," Harry said, hardly allowing Ron to finish his statement.

"Alright," Ron said. "Then the rest of us will be ghosts of the three Death Eaters coming back to haunt Wormtail. That should work out nicely, shouldn't it?"  

He handed the first bottle, labeled "Lucius" to Draco, gave Hermione the bottle labeled "Goyle", and he kept the vial "Crabbe" for himself.

"Hopefully," said Draco, examining the contents of the Polyjuice potion. Ron gave him a slight glare. 

"Remember to call him Pettigrew," he warned them. Then he gave Harry a huge, brotherly hug. 

"You better find her, Harry. She's my little sister and I love her, and so do you. If you don't, I'll…well, you will find her. I know you will, because you're brave, and strong, and you'd never let any of us down. So, no pressure then," he said, and smiled at Harry. Draco gave him a hug too, though less close than Ron's. 

"Good luck," he smirked widely and gave Harry a punch on the arm. "You're going to need it."

Harry smiled at both of them and then turned to look at Hermione. "Hermione?" he asked. "Do you have something to tell me as well?" She nodded, and came to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She pulled back, gripping his shoulders. 

"I've already told you what I need to. So, be careful Harry. You're a great wizard, you know." She and Harry shared a secret glance and she realized how long they had been friends. _What if this is the last time I see him? She tried to fight crying, but it was no use. She was sniffling and sobbing._

"Oh, come on Hermione, don't get all teary on me! I'll be fine. I…I best be off now." He gave a last look to all of them. Ron nodded to him. He left, walking towards the back of the house through the woods.

Hermione burst into tears and hugged Ron tightly. "It's okay, 'Mione," he comforted her, patting her on the back not-so-awkwardly anymore. "He'll be alright. This won't be the last time you see him. I promise you that." She pulled away from him reluctantly.

"We better hurry up and get going," Hermione said, stifling her weeping.

"You're right," Draco declared, and emptied his vial. He grew taller, became fuller, and his hair became longer. Some wrinkles found their way into his face. Other than these, there weren't many noticeable differences. 

"Bottoms up," Ron said resignedly, and drank his also. He clutched his chest, feeling nauseous. His skin was crawling. He became more muscular and big and his hair changed, his eyes changed colors into murky brown, a sight Hermione was very unhappy to see. 

Finally, she drained her own vial, almost choking; it tasted disgusting. She felt herself grow taller and muscular and more masculine. "Ohhh," she groaned, and fell right into Ron's arms, who more than quickly set her on her feet and away from him. 

As the three strange friends walked towards the formidable house of Wormtail, Hermione whispered under her breath, 

"Remind me not to use the bathroom in the next hour."

_~Evyfleur_

   [1]: http://www.geocities.com/v_yfandes/scalawag.html



	18. Ghosts on the Doorstep

**Chapter 18:**

**Author's note: **Hi guys! I'm finally back, after my long and terrible absence. I have to apologize quite deeply for that. Here's a short chapter to whet your appetite while I'm working on the next one, and I promise, it won't take me this long next time! Again, many apologies, and I hope you like this.

**Disclaimer: **Hail J.K. Rowling, the rightful creator of Harry Potter! You know what my mental image of Warner Bros. is? Peter Pettigrew. It was so nice of Jo to provide us with a perfect picture of cowardice and disgust. Thank you, Jo! 

_Ghosts on the Doorstep_

While dusk was settling rapidly into night, Draco, Ron, and Hermione were settling into their temporary bodies. They stepped up to the front porch of Wormtail's house, all three feeling ill and uncomfortable. With a courageous sigh and a tighter grip on the wand in his left pocket, Draco declared, "I'll take charge from here."

Ron and Hermione gave each other a look that clearly said _why not? We might as well. _Draco seemed to notice this, and continued:

"Follow my orders while we're in the house. That way we will be able to stay on the same game plan, thus making it easier for us to deceive him."

It was quite strange to see and hear these words coming from Lucius Malfoy's thin lips. But they made sense, so Ron in Crabbe's body and Hermione in Goyle's nodded in agreement to what he said. 

Draco took a look at the house for a moment. It was run-down, decrepit, dark, and dusty. The windows looked like they had never been cleaned, nor the lawn managed in any way.The trees were all dead, the tall grass and bushes overgrown, and the light coming from inside was dim and depressing. A bronze knocker sat in the middle of a large, solid door, but Draco decided against using it. Instead, he rapped his strong knuckles against the wood of the door.

Upon closer inspection, Hermione noticed that the knocker that Draco wasn't so fond of had a grim image etched onto it. There was a vicious snake wrapped tightly around a lion's body, suffocating the strong beast. At the same time the snake was sinking its long fangs into the lion's mane. The poor lion looked like it was roaring with all of its might and writhing in inexpressible agony. Hermione turned away from the door to block the disturbing thought which was inspired by the knocker. Her eyes fell on Ron's necklace.

All of the necklaces were pastels of the colors they usually were most of the time, meaning Hermione wasn't the only frightened one amongst the three. Draco's pendant, the lizard, was a light orange; Ron's pendant, a chess piece, the knight, was a pale reddish color; and Hermione's, the book, of course, was a tinted purple color. 

The door was answered by a man who, though he looked quite strong for his age, was obviously elderly. He raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise at who was standing there, at Wormtail's front door. The trio had to restrain themselves from jumping for joy at the sight of him, though, because he fitted the description that Ginny had told them of an old man who waited on Pettigrew there. 

"Wait just a moment please," he said, and left a small view through the partially open door. Lucius placed his foot in the doorway, a very clever idea, in Goyle's opinion: it would stop Pettigrew and whoever that old man was from closing the door on them in fright, disbelief, or suspicion, from closing the door on three false ghosts. 

Clearly, there was some kind of conflict, because all three of them heard shouting, stomping, and a little while later, after waiting outside awkwardly trying to be mysterious and scary, the old man reappeared with Pettigrew by his side. Pettigrew pushed him aside and looked fearfully at Lucius, Crabbe, and Goyle standing on the front steps of his (rather pathetic) home. Crabbe and Goyle followed Lucius' lead, as he had told them to do, and stared back at Pettigrew with grave expressions on their dull faces.

"Harold," Peter addressed the old man.

"Yes, sir?"

Send an owl to the Dark Lord and ask him to come right away. And be nice about it," he added hastily. "I don't want to be the one responsible for angering him."

"Of course, sir," Harold replied, though he looked rather uncomfortable about doing such a thing. Pettigrew had said all of this to him very quietly, though, as though frightened of being killed by his former colleagues. 

Suddenly Goyle noticed that they hadn't hid their necklaces. He tried to subtly nudge Crabbe with his elbow. Crabbe looked at him normally, that is, in confusion and bewilderment. Goyle put his necklace behind the front of his robe so that it couldn't be seen. Then rare realization dawned on Crabbe's face, and he understood what Goyle was trying to tell him, so he tucked in his necklace also. He hoped that Pettigrew wouldn't pay any mind to Lucius's necklace.

Pettigrew turned back from his discussion with Harold quite nervously.

"Come in, sirs! What happened? I could have sworn that the three of you were, uh, had, um, well, I guess you aren't, are you? Tell me, I must hear your story," he finally stammered, opening the door all of the way and ushering them inside with a fake smile. His silver hand matched perfectly with the doorknob he was holding much too tightly.

Lucius stepped, no, more like glided in, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, who tried to look dead/clumsy-ish…it wasn't easy. Pettigrew left the door to somehow welcome them. He took them to a room off of the front of the house, deep into its reaches. Crabbe purposely slammed the door shut with a dissonant BANG! which shook the house and caused Pettigrew to fly five feet into the air in shock. Goyle gave a coy smile to Crabbe; Harry would know they were inside now, apart from the bonus of scaring Pettigrew to the end of his nerves. But it also reminded him: _Voldemort__ is coming. The old man, Harold, he's sending an owl for him right now! Oh, hurry Harry, hurry! Or else I fear we may not leave this house alive. She, of course, knew that Harry wouldn't actually hear her, but Crabbe shuddered and gulped, and gave her a frightened look. _What is that for?_ she wondered. _

Once Pettigrew had led them to the living room-looking chamber where they could sit down (but didn't), he immediately started to fidget. 

"I'll make some tea for us, then," he said with another brown-nosing smile.

"WE DO NOT NEED TEA, Pettigrew," said Lucius, as though Pettigrew was a bumbling idiot, which Goyle reminded himself, he was. Crabbe and Goyle decided to glower at Pettigrew and crack their knuckles menacingly, so that Lucius could go on and speak.

"What has always been the motive of the Dark Lord, Pettigrew?" Lucius spat at him, standing rigidly in front of the small, balding man, and glaring at him so meanly that Goyle would have run away long ago if Lucius had been looking at him. It was strangely unreal, though, being there. The fear Goyle felt was dull; it didn't seem to matter as much as it should. But he kept his attention on the coward.

 Pettigrew didn't look ready for a pop quiz, and he could tell that the question he'd just been asked was going to have a trick answer. He stuttered to make time for himself, stalling and fidgeting even more. 

"Well, um, that would be-" Pettigrew began, but Lucius interrupted him impatiently.

"TO CONQUER DEATH!" He shouted at Pettigrew in the traditionally silky, venomous, Malfoy voice that made anyone within a twenty mile radius feel like filth. (**A/n**: Twenty mile radius- "Ouch.") He narrowed his steely grey eyes at Peter, almost in amusement, it seemed. 

"And do you know what happened to us, Pettigrew?" He pronounced each syllable smoothly and firmly, as though he was about to divulge a fatal secret. 

Peter shook his head vigorously, worried for what he knew Lucius might say. His beady little eyes darted back and forth across the room and he rubbed his hands together anxiously, as a rat might do. Lucius grinned eerily at him. 

"We died."

**~**_Evyfleur_


	19. A Proposal in the Last Five Minutes

**Chapter 19:**

**Author's Note:** I'm back again! It's not that long of a chapter again, but I'm working hard to update as often as I can. Please, please review! I'm sorry for not leaving the usual messages to my faithful reviewers in the last chapter, but I was a bit pressed for time. They are right here, though you might want to avoid this section if you haven't reviewed before:

**Cariel-** Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you like it! I'm sorry you had to wait so long! I hope you like this chapter!

**Mione Weasley/Sylvia Malfoy- **My bestest best best coolest reviewer ever! I'm so sorry for making you wait such a long time! *sobs* I've just been so busy. It's no excuse, I know, I should Ron, Hermione, and Draco ahead of my personal/academic life any day of the week, but I've been neglecting my duties. Forgive me! Anyway, I assure you, they will get together write soon, but it takes a while, they are serious people when it comes to relationships, and if I do decide to write a sequel, you can be sure that Draco and his wife will have very pretty babies! Hehe…anyway, please read and tall me what I'm doing right and wrong, I depend on you, dear friend!

**Hermiones-Twin-** Well, I'm sorry my updates haven't been "soon" but I'm glad you like the story! Thank you for the review!

**Sela-** Aww! I feel so fuzzy inside! Thank you for the wonderful review, here's the next chapter…I hope you like it! Thank you for the reviews!

**bumpersticker86- **Lol! That's so cool! I made someone laugh! *grins unavoidably* I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but as usual, my life has decided to be a living hell. Sheesh! Okay, well, I hope you like this next chapter!

**Michemix- **Hehe…three months with so little chapters? Well, I have to apologize then, but I'm very glad that you like my fanfic! Please continue to read and review, if you can still forgive me for not posting the next chapter for such a long time.

**owlpost1992- **Hey! I'm sorry for not posting the chapter in such a long time! I decided that they should call him Pettigrew because only Voldemort would have known that nick name, not everyone. After all, the teachers at Hogwarts never knew his nickname was Wormtail. Bye! *bumps back*

**Gigaku- **Wow! I'm glad you liked that! I thought it was funny, I just couldn't resist putting it in there. Sorry for the long delay in posting, but enjoy!

**Grintsgrl- **Yay!!!** I'm so glad that you like my fanfic! I suppose you happen to be a devout shipper of Ron and Hermione as I am, right? Well, I have to apologize so much for not posting sooner, but I have continued my story finally, and I hope you like it just as much as the last chapters! Thank you for the fantastic review!**

**CurlsofGold- **I'm so glad you've come to review me again! I'm so sorry for the uncalled-for delay and I sincerely apologize. I hope you like this next chapter! Not a lot of shippiness for R/Hr, but if you like G/H then this is great!

**LizWeasley221-** Thank you for reading, and that is probably one of the best reviews I have ever received. I was getting annoyed myself with all of these one chapter fics where all of the sudden, Ron and Hermione fall in love and kiss and so on. That isn't what happened for the first four years of their education at Hogwarts, why would it happen in one to two nights? It wouldn't. Thank you so much, and please continue to read! 

**fleurfan- **Ooh! I'm so glad you like it! By the way, I love Fleur too, she's awesome. Please keep reading, and thank you so much for the review!

**jessica-** Well, you find out in this chapter where they find Ginny, I hope you like it! Lots of good H/G fluffiness, if that's your thing. Thank you for the great reviews!

**leigh-**Woohoo! Go HP! Only 49 days left! My dear friend, go check out the news at the Leaky Cauldron, JK is doing a reading and ten Americans will be able to go, it's a contest though. But I just wanted to let you know! Bye!!

**Amandah Leigh-**By my calculations, which could be wrong, Dennis arrived at Hogwarts in Harry's fourth year, and Harry graduated when he was 17. If that is correct, then when Harry is 22, it means that Dennis can be 17 or 18, depending on what time of the year it is. So, if you find me wrong please inform me of that, and I will try to edit things a bit. Thanks for reading, and many thanks for the thought-provoking review!

**cool123321- **Thanks! Please keep reading, and thanks for the review!

**Lady Russell Holmes- **Thank you for the review! Have fun reading this chapter!

You may resume your regular reading schedule now, thank you for your scrolling time.****

**Disclaimer**: I know I don't own any of the rights to J.K. Rowling's great story, Harry Potter, but I must stress the horrid things that Warner Bros. doing in massacring the books just to make movies. Warner Brothers is taking out Oliver Wood, yes, Wood, and quidditch from the third movie! Will we stand for this kind of action? I think not!!!! Please, visit your nearest HP fansite and sign the "It's the Wood that Makes it Good" petition. Thank you very much, and if you happen to see a Warner Bros. employee, either kill them or get me their license plate number.

_A Proposal in the Last Five Minutes_

Lucius launched into a beautifully descriptive, flowery, totally improvised speech about what had happened to them when his "filthy son" had attacked them, and how Lord Voldemort had come and put them right (and alive) again. He added that the Dark Lord had destroyed his poor excuse for a child and the two others that were with him, a "disgraceful mudblood" and "that son of Arthur Weasley, the lover of all mudbloods and muggles."  He told Peter that they were still looking for the terrible Potter and that they should not kill him, but bring him to Voldemort so that He could carry out his insightful plans of what to do with him. He went on talking without any visual appearance of stopping any moment in the near future. Goyle was very impressed.

*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*

Meanwhile, out by the depths of the house, far from where Draco, Ron, and Hermione would be, Harry struggled to remain as quiet as possible in his anxiety. It was no easy feat.

"Alohamora," he muttered almost incomprehensibly to the doorknob. With a short burst of red from his wand, the lock sprang from its socket and with a satisfying click! the door opened with a slight creaking noise. Harry tiptoed inside and closed the door behind him quite carefully. He looked from one gray and dull hallway to the next. Both looked very long indeed for such a normal house. He realized that, like Mr. Weasley's car in second year, this house was magically expanded on the inside.

It was huge, perhaps just as large as Malfoy Manor from what he had heard of it, but not as open. Oh no, this house seemed to be tangled into a knot or maze of hallways stretching and turning this way and that. There was only one desperate way he decided to try in order to get to Ginny that had helped him quite well when he was in his fourth year. He placed his wand in the palm of his hand, looked at it for a moment, and then whispered softly, 

"Point me to Ginny."

Just when Harry was going to give up and put the wand back in his pocket to sieve through all of the hallways, the wand gave a twirl. It went faster and faster, then stopping, turned the other way and another way, it finally, gracefully stopped and pointed to the hallway on Harry's right side. Grinning hopefully, Harry lunged down the corridor. He checked doors right and left until a fluttering sound caught his ear. He hurried to a nearby window just in time to see an owl swoop across the sky and over the wood. This owl gave him a sense of foreboding, for some strange, evil reason that Harry did not know. He shook the feeling of, and getting rid of the distraction, tried another door on his left.

A long, narrow staircase descended in front of him. Harry could feel something here and used the spell to point him towards Ginny once again. When it told him, he rushed down the stairs that creaked and cracked with age behind him. When he reached the foot of the staircase another long hallway went on before him. He decided it might be deep enough and far enough away from Wormtail to actually call her. 

"Ginny," he said quietly. He heard movement come from one of the rooms behind the heavy doors down the hall. He briskly walked towards it, and knocked delicately on the door. 

"Gin?" He said, a little bit louder.

"Harry?" He heard Ginny's sobbing voice cry faintly from behind the door. 

"Alohamora!" He said, pointing at the door. Nothing happened. Of course they wouldn't make it that easy, Harry thought to himself. 

"Damn it!" He almost shouted, "How am I going to get in?" Suddenly an idea came to him. Searching his pockets, Harry found a few pieces of paper and an old bobby pin that Ginny had asked him to hold for her, a long time ago. He took it out, and fumbling around with it, stuffed it into the key hole frantically. He remembered the summer before his second year at Hogwarts once again, when the Weasleys had rescued him from the Dursleys with a bobby pin and a turquoise ford Anglia.

He turned the pin back and forth gently, struggling to keep his patience. The tumblers finally moved and the lock fell open. Harry opened the door and rushed into the room to see Ginny sitting helplessly on the floor with a tear-stained face. In front of her was the piece of paper with which she'd been writing to them. She looked up.

"Harry!" She said with a strangled cry. "I thought I'd been imagining you again." They embraced each other with a tight hug. Harry had her close to him, his arm around her, holding her, and his other hand stroking her bright red hair. He rested his head on her shoulder, right against her delicate neck. It was so wonderful, she had been all that he had thought of since Draco, Ron, and Hermione had found him. She had had thrown her arms around him. She showered his untidy, jet black hair with soft kisses, rejoicing that he was alive and he had found her. 

"Ginny. I'm so glad you're alive," he said, voicing her thoughts. "We weren't careful enough. But that doesn't matter now, does it?" He smiled warmly in her presence.

"I knew you would find me, Harry. It doesn't matter. We're together." She sighed in relief and stayed as close as she could to Harry. 

"Yes. We're together…together at last…Ginny?" he asked, looking at her brilliant blue eyes and freckled face.

"Yes Harry?" She asked, smiling back at him.

"I love you."

She grinned widely at this and gave him another hug.

"I love you, too."

"Marry me, will you?" He said hastily, taking her hands in his. This was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with: she was sitting there in front of him, completely brave, completely ready to give her life for him. He wanted to give his life for her.

"Of course. I've been ready to say yes since I was eleven."

They shared a long, sweet kiss and held each other closely. But Harry rapidly remembered Ron, Draco, and Hermione.

"We have to go, Ginny." He pulled back and got to his feet, running a hand quickly through his black hair. "We have to get out of here. Ron and Hermione and Draco are causing a distraction for us. Let's go!" He gave her his hand, and with just one question springing from her mouth ("Draco?"), they ran out the door of her dark, cold room. They hurried though the long hallway and up the dangerously noisy, cracking, old stairs. Until-

"Hold on. Who are you? Oh, I see. You are the Potter boy." 

They had been stopped by who appeared to be the butler of Wormtail. He said this gravely, but he seemed rather sad. "I'm sure," he sighed, "that master Pettigrew would want to see this. You had better come with me." He took Harry's wand from him, who let him. The surprise and pity he had for this man kept him from harming him. But as soon as he realized what he'd done, panic filled his bright green eyes. He clutched Ginny's hand protectively. Keeping close, they reluctantly followed Harold to where Wormtail was listening in fear to his three friends.

*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~*

It had been a long while and Goyle was wondering how Harry was managing all on his own. He glanced at his watch subtly by crossing his arms across his chest and giving a menacing glare to the coward in front of them. He was quite frightened himself now, though. In only five minutes, the Polyjuice potion would wear off. Crabbe looked a bit panicky, too. He seemed to be taking it out by acting really angry at Peter. Lucius was finishing his speech now, though, so Goyle surmised that he knew what was going on. 

He was standing only a foot away from Pettigrew, looking down his nose in contempt at the small, nervous man Lucius held his wand aimed at him, threateningly getting closer or farther, and whishing around, this way or that, in accordance to what Lucius was saying. Peter began to beg him.

"Yes, b-b-but what did I do? Why are you here? There are plenty of-of other loyal death eaters who would enjoy this privilege. I-I-I mean, this isn't the, uh, er, why would you need to tell me this?"

"Because, Pettigrew!" Lucius exclaimed in slight annoyance and amusement at the same time. He waved an impatient hand.

"If we conquered death, shouldn't' you have the right to do so also? It is only just for one so magnanimous as you were in the situation our Dark Lord was in before. You saved him from that place! You should be the first to undergo the process…after my friends and me, of course. It was only a necessity to bring us back. You are the true one who deserves it." Lucius raised his eyebrows slightly, and with a sinister smile, stepped back to aim his wand at Peter's heart. 

Peter wrung his hands and shook his head in fear and desperation. "I-I-I, of course I would, Lucius. When I die of natural causes it will be a g-great feeling to be raised by the Dark Lord, so I think I would b-better appreciate it later than at this particular moment-"

"SILENCE!" Lucius commanded ferociously.

But at that particular moment, Harold the Butler opened the door to the parlor with a serious frown on his face, deep set in his wrinkles of age. In front of him were Ginny and Harry, clasping each others hands tightly. It was easy to see that they were quite frightened, but a trace of a smile crossed Harry's lips when he caught sight of Lucius, Crabbe, and Goyle. 

"Harry Potter!" Wormtail suddenly said with glee, sliding out from the direction of Lucius's wand while they were gaping in shock at seeing Harry and Ginny. "And the Dark Lord himself will be here, too!" He laughed and added under his breath, "I will be prized above all the Death Eaters." He grinned at the seemingly helpless couple.

Ron and Hermione whipped out their wands at the same time and pointed them at Wormtail, but suddenly, they started to shrink. They shrank until they became their normal (**A/n: Normal?) selves, Ron glad that he no longer had Crabbe's toenails, Hermione glad that she was feminine again. Draco shrank also, the wrinkles in his face disappeared, and he became less evil and stony looking. Wormtail was shocked and fidgeted wildly as the others held their ground. **

Except for Harry, that is. 

He suddenly fell to the floor with a powerless groan, clutching his forehead in pain. Ginny dropped down next to him, trying to help. Hermione knew what was wrong. Voldemort had read that letter, and in a burst of anger, was quickly on his way there. _There isn't much time left, then! She ran up to Wormtail, and, pointing her wand straight between his eyes, said quite clearly, "Give. Me. Your. Wand." _

He took it out with a fretful gulp, and shutting his eyes tightly, handed it over to Hermione. Draco took up a task also; he walked over to Harold quite calmly and said, "We're going to write a letter to Dumbledore Give the wands to Ron." 

He indicated Ron, who was standing on the other side of the room, serving Hermione as backup. Draco glared at Harold treacherously, as he hesitated. He threw the two wands, which landed perfectly in Ron's pocket, and left with Draco on his heels.

Suddenly, Wormtail lashed out at Hermione, who backed up in surprise. Ron attacked in a rage, kicking and punching him violently in a number of places that weren't quite appropriate. Wormtail squeaked and tried to fight back before (quickly) losing his consciousness. Ron shoved the motionless rat of a man into a corner of the room. Then he took the two wands out of his pocket and tossed them to Ginny, who was helping Harry out of his stupor of pain. He looked at Pettigrew, and with a loud laugh said, 

"I've been waiting to do that for a long time!"

~Evyfleur


	20. The Battle of LongAwaited Revelations

**Chapter 20:**

**Author's Note:** Here I am again! I just want to say, before you all start pelting me with things preferably not rotten or extremely hard, that this chapter was extremely difficult to write. So appreciate it, you whipper-snappers! No, I kid you at that, I am rather a bit of a "whipper-snapper" myself. Anyway, I prithee, please read and enjoy my chapter, and if thou hast anything to say, please leave a review or email me at lisechka@aol.com. Thanks! By the way, if I have left you out of my review responses, please send me an email and I will be sure to respond. Now, for all the faithful reviewers out there in fanfiction wonderland:

**Sela**- Yes, just a bit abrupt, wasn't it? Hehe, well, I hope you enjoy this next installment, there is a bit of a conclusion to another romance in here, I guess. Thanks for the awesome review!

**Sylvia Malfoy**- My dear friend! My next chapter has arrived! Your suggestion for plot expansion was wonderful, but unfortunately it would not function for the rest of the story *makes pouty face* however, this is the chapter where Voldemort is finally des-, ahem, fought. You'll see what happens, I daresay. I've decided to lengthen my story though. Be happy! Hopefully…we'll see how it goes. The old man, Harold, is an invention of my own. He is not Voldemort, though he's secretly very powerful, he is just a tortured servant of Wormtail that actually belongs to Dumbledore's side, if he was freed. I love Draco, and I'm planning many more stories with him, don't worry.  I'm so glad you like my chapters, they were difficult transitions to this. Hope you like it!

**amangius-**mooneyes-wolfspell**- Cool name, dude…Thanks for the review, I hope you continue to like my story!**

**jessica- thanks for the review! I've finally uploaded again, and I hope you like this next chapter, it took me forever to put together…but I'm happy.**

**exlibris- wow! Thank you for the great review, I'm so glad that you like my story! I put a lot of work into these plots, and I hope you like the conclusion of this next chapter, cause I definitely did. What am I saying, I'm the author. Sheesh, Evyfleur has to get a hold of herself. Any way, have fun reading, I hope you like it!**

**leigh-hey buddy! Only 20 days, and it's my twentieth chapter! Rejoice! I'm so happy, can't wait for OotP. I hope you will find enlightenment and fuzzy feelings inside by reading my next chapter…yay! I love H/G…but then again, I can be easily converted to Ginny/ Draco, terrible of me, isn't it? Oh well, see you on the 20th! Cheers! **

**Cariel**- Here's my next chapter! Sorry for the delay, but it was all for the good of the story, I promise! I love polyjuice potion, isn't it a wonderfully convenient plot device? I think so…thanks for the review!

Gigaku- Hello, amigo! I'm glad you're so excited! I am too, this chapter has been torture for me to write, but it's all worth it, ain't it? Please read and enjoy very much, thank you!

**Disclaimer:** I have nothing to say more than: J.K. Rowling owns this and I intend to make no money off of it, unlike some others around here…*gives evil Ronnish glare at WB* Anyway, this isn't mine, it's hers.

**_The _****_Battle_****_ of Long-Awaited Revelations_**

****

            So there they stood, waiting for the Dark Lord's followers to arrive, to pick them off one by one. Hermione felt a raw pain in her chest at this thought. It wasn't supposed to end this way, she wanted it to end differently. The end didn't belong with the Death Eaters; it belonged with her friends, with Ginny and Harry, and Ron. Still, there was no way to escape the attack, it was inevitable. Soon, a line of black robed people appeared in the distance through the window. One horrible, dark creature was leading them; he was also dressed in black, but it seemed his white, snakish face stood out vibrantly from everything else. Hermione felt cold at the sight of his cruel, pitiless face. She lost all of her courage at that point and half turned, half fell back, into Ron's arms. She buried her face in his robes and held on to him earnestly. 

            "Ron," she cried, "I'm scared. I really am. We're going to die, and we won't even be able to start being true friends again. I don't want to die this way," she whispered to him. She didn't want Ginny and Harry to hear her in such a childish fit.

            Ron put his arms around her protectively and said, quite calmly, though he couldn't tear his eyes from the sight of the figures outside, approaching quickly: "Are you kidding? We're the best out there, 'Mione! We're better than all of them out there, put together." he gestured violently towards the Death Eaters.

            "Especially you, 'Mione. We would still be at Hogwarts if it wasn't for you. Don't you worry. And what's this about 'true' friends? What else did we do as friends? This is our friendship, it's helping Harry out and that's what it has been since the beginning. Why should it change now? Anyway, I'd rather fight off a load of Death Eaters as true friends than hang out at the Three Broomsticks! We'll be together to the end in everything we do. We've always been real friends, even when we weren't speaking. It was just another Classic-Ron-and-Hermione-Row, as everyone tells me now. It was just a bit longer than the others, wasn't it?" 

Hermione nodded faintly, lost in what he was saying to her. He finally looked down from the sight out the window to stare at Hermione, and it happened. He knew what was going on and why he had "rows" with her all of the time, why he hated Viktor, and why he was about to do something. He had known it before, of course, but something about her eyes and her desperate need to be there, with him and no one else, to need his true friendship, to live, made it inescapable and perfect at the same time in his heart. 

Suddenly, he pulled Hermione in and kissed her roughly. He was about to say "for luck" to cover up for what he had just done, but that kiss was much too honest to excuse. He had to say something, she was looking at him for some word, and he was just acting like a goldfish. Well, it was now or never.

"Hermione, I-"

"No," she exclaimed, stopping him, "wait until this battle's over. Don't ruin a good moment." She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but grin back at her. 

They joined Harry and Ginny and stepped out of the old house to face the enemies outside quickly making their way towards the four people. Draco soon appeared, too, looking even paler than he usually was. 

"I hope that owl gets there on time. I body-binded the butler, too. I don't think he'll be any harm, but it's only a precaution. He'll have company with the owls."

He stood next to them and took out his wand along with the rest of them, taking a fearful gulp. "Here we go," he muttered, and, taking a gold ring out of his pocket, put it on his left ring finger and stood ready to fight.

            The Death Eaters had finally gotten within range, and the air was shot immediately with hexes and curses from the friends' side, "Impedimenta! Stupefy! Petrificus Totalus!" 

They shouted anything and everything they knew to keep them from cursing them. But as for the Death Eaters, they seemed more serious about the situation, throwing Unforgivable Curses toward them. The more cowardly ones sent Cruciatus Curses, but many were shouting "Avada Kedavra!" with evil glee. Quickly, the five friends realized that to be successful they would need to form teams. Ron and Hermione stood back to back. "I'll block!" Hermione yelled to him. 

            "Uh, alright! I'll curse, then!" Ron replied anxiously. And so they continued as thus, struggling, but their plan was working relatively well, considering the circumstances.

            At one point, Draco was hit with a Cruciatus curse. When the rest heard his painful bellow, they all turned around and cursed the Death Eater who had hit him. He looked rather stunned, and simply fell over, an unfortunate amount and combination of curses taking effect on him. This caused a lapse in blocking curses, however, and Ron was hit by a "Crucio!" also. He fell to the brittle ground in the sting of the curse, writhing and trying to point his wand at the one who did it. Hermione didn't hesitate to give Macnair, who did it, a swift right hook, forgetting her wand in the moment.

"That's for Ron _and Buckbeak," she said fiercely. He looked as though the breath had been knocked out of him, but hastily regained his bearings and pulled out a newly sharpened dagger. She backed away in shock, but was shoved to the side as Ron attacked him. He managed to get the blade away, but only after Macnair had stabbed him in his wand arm. Ron threw the dagger as far as he could, hit another Death Eater with it in the process, stunned Macnair and disarmed him. _

There happened to be a good side to Ron not having his wand arm functioning. It was a bit like their second year in Hogwarts, when Ron's wand had broken, except now the magic was more powerful. All of the Death Eaters Ron cursed started retching slugs everywhere, this causing other somber black-robed followers to slip on them. Still more Death Eaters were now trapped above them in amazingly strong, gigantic lavender bubbles. 

"Hmm, that seems to be working, keep it up, Ron" Draco said, suppressing a laugh. Ron gave him a half-smile and wrapped his robe tightly around his bleeding arm.

Though they fought both in the literal sense and to keep an optimistic view about the battle, it was obvious that they were too greatly outnumbered, and the followers of Voldemort continued to close in on them. Ginny and Harry were concentrating their efforts quite efficiently, picking off each Death Eater together, double cursing. Draco and Hermione left it to them and to Ron to curse. Instead, they started to block and shield wherever they could, directing their blocks at visible, traveling spells.

Then, everything seemed to slow for a moment, and finally stopped. No one sent a spell or cursed or blocked. Everyone stood still, as a majestic, surreal sound swam lightly through the air, catching everyone's ear to call for peace, and everyone's eye as they searched for the origin of the enthralling song. Ron looked up sharply. He recalled that quality and tune, that comforting, secure sound. His eyes met Harry's bright green ones, and he remembered who it was. 

The bird with red and gold plumage glided gracefully through the air. It was the perfect adult form of Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, who also provided a tail feather for both Harry and Voldemort's wands. Ron smiled and turned to Hermione.

"Keep fighting, 'Mione, the help is here," he muttered to her, and they turned back to stun the shocked Death Eaters mercilessly. With the same expression of awe on each of their faces at Fawkes, many more began to fall. Snapping out of their reverie, they reacted ferociously, only this time it wasn't so easy, as a number of more people had turned up with Dumbledore to fight.  

Among these were Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Arthur Weasley and his three sons Bill, Charlie, and Percy, along with many others who had joined Dumbledore's band of "radicals" after the wizarding world split. Out of the crowd, a young woman exclaimed in fear and joy, and ran towards Hermione. Except she wasn't running for Hermione at all; she didn't care that there were Death Eaters everywhere, she immediately glued herself to Draco's side and asked him if he was alright. He became softer than Hermione had ever seen him before. He actually acted like a human being with her: Genevieve, she surmised. She smiled at Draco, tenderly telling her that he was fine and that he was more worried for her, and they started to join together to get rid of the black-robed men. Hermione quietly slinked off and sidled up to Ron who was still struggling to control his wand, which was now sending huge clouds of orange smoke and quite a putrid smell in front of him, making it impossible for the Death Eaters to see. Hermione took advantage and started to stun wherever she heard coughing sounds. 

            Sirius and Remus hardly used their wands at all; they used mostly hand to hand combat, after they disarmed all of their opponents, of course. Arthur and the boys looked like they were thrilled to be in something like an old western muggle movie and cursed left and right to stop the Death Eaters. Dumbledore and Snape very modestly stayed to what was essential in fighting. For a moment, it seemed the tide had turned and they were finally gaining a fair advantage over the scores of fallen wizards who blindly followed the Dark Lord, when he himself, usually staying back to only prod his pawns into action for him, decided it was necessary to enter the battle.

            Most of the people were too busy in blocking and cursing others to notice that he had arrived, but Harry and his friends felt it, along with a few others who had had enough experience to know when this happened. Dumbledore and Sirius paused abruptly and scanned the battlefield that used to be the yard of a house for Voldemort. Voldemort, the man, if he could still possibly be called that, who wanted to steal death and be immortal. Sirius hastily fought his way through the swarms of people fighting to Harry; when he got to his side, he smiled and said,

            "Fawkes wouldn't let us leave without this, think you might need it?"

He pulled Godric Gryffindor's magnificent sword out from his robes and handed to Harry very carefully. Harry took it, the handle of the sword fitting his fingers perfectly. Harry smiled back at Sirius and thanked him for bringing him the sword. Just holding the sword of his old house at Hogwarts, Harry felt strong and confident, and secure, or was it something else? He hid it in his robes, though, and continued to duel with his wand, as it was much more practical, and he didn't want to kill people, he wanted to stop them from killing him.

            Death Eaters fell now, right and left, and Voldemort joined in the battle energetically, as though anxious that he would lose some of his oh-so-loyal, invaluable followers. 

Ron and Hermione were back to back once again, blasting (or strangely cursing or charming in Ron's case) any and every obstacle out of their way as they made a path over to aid the other Weasleys. A painful wail resonated in the air, and Arthur Weasley fell to the ground from a Cruciatus curse sent to him by Voldemort.

"Imperio!" he yelled again in a cold voice, pointing his wand at Bill. A glazed look took over Bill's eyes, and he started to attack Charlie and Percy, who fought to keep him off. Two more Imperius curses went flying at them, and all of the Weasley brothers except for Ron (who was cursing Voldemort with every colorful word he knew, under his breath so as not to offend Hermione, even though she could her it and supported him in everything he said) started attacking their own allies. 

Ron, looking positively terrified and angry at the same time, shouted at them desperately, "No! Stop! You're on our side! Don't listen to the voice! Don't listen to him! You're on our side, stop it!"

This didn't happen to help however, and his brothers turned to attack him with a far off look in their eyes. He and Hermione had to resort to disarming them, hoping it would stop them only long enough to let Ron and Hermione actually get rid of the people they needed to get rid of. Voldemort tried to send an "Imperio!" at Ron also, to complete the brothers' fate, but Ron had not spent a year practicing with Moody and having his ears twitch for hours to not know how to block an Imperius curse. He laughed as the spell hit him right on his long, freckled nose.

"Maybe if one of your 'most loyal' servants hadn't taught me how to resist that curse it would work. Unfortunately, I've had a lot of experience." He grinned in victory at the Dark Lord, who became infuriated, and instead sent an Imperius curse to Draco, whom he knew it would work on. Draco was hit on the back by it, and sank to his knees at the impact of the curse, a look in his eye saying he was absent. A dangerous flash in his eye told them he was fighting it, though, and finally, he stood again, taking a determined glint and none of the effects of Voldemort's curse with him. The Dark Lord almost looked afraid now, but soon the cries of Remus and Sirius in pain were heard over the clamor of voices. Ron and Hermione gave each other a troubled expression, but continued to fight as steadily as they could.

The Death Eaters, taking an upward turn at the arrival of their leader, had now unarmed and captured Arthur, Lupin, and (with some difficulty: ex. Biting, scratching, etc.) had Sirius tied up. He struggled in his cords that were similar to the ones the trio remembered Snape had used to restrain him back in their third year, in the Shrieking Shack. 

Speaking of Snape, he had also been caught when he left Dumbledore's side to attend to another comrade, and they were torturing him endlessly. Even if he was the most hated teacher Hogwarts had ever seen, the cries of Snape did not give the sweet feeling of revenge to those who despised him. It bred pity for Snape, the brave one who broke away from being a Death Eater but continued to risk his life for the sake of his fellow wizards. It wasn't all that different than what Draco had experienced on his mental journey from Waterloo station to Wormtail's unwelcoming house.

Only a few people were left. Voldemort was now nearing Harry and Ginny and looked prepared to curse him. Ron, Hermione and Draco (who told Genevieve to stay behind to protect herself) all ran to his and Ginny's side, while Dumbledore struggled to keep the Death Eaters away from them. Voldemort sneered at Harry, ignoring his friends, and spoke to him alone.

"Harry Potter." There was an ambiguity of hate and proud amusement in his voice. "We meet again, and for the last time, I'm sure," he said, gesturing around them with his long, pale fingers. 

"I'm sure," repeated Harry boldly.

"We should get this over soon then, shouldn't we? Crucio!" He yelled, but he wasn't aiming for Harry, he was aiming at Draco, who fell in agony to the hard ground again because of the Dark Lord's spite. "Or maybe we should talk about this. My old friend, your new friend; I don't appreciate it when people betray me," he said, smiling horribly and watching with insatiable thirst as Draco twitched and lost all of his strength rapidly. He gave a small chuckle at the helpless creature and turned his slit-like eyes upon Ginny, who stood in front of him, feeling naked in his sight. 

She had spilled every thought and feeling and turn, every change of her soul into Tom Riddle's diary. He knew everything about her character from when she was a little eleven year-old, falling in love with her brother's best friend. She trembled, but held her ground and stared in fear and shock at the deceptive snake who had stolen into her innocent mind with cunning charm.

"What a sweet girl. A sweet, beautiful, misled, annoying little girl. I listened to you and all of your petty troubles for months to have you finally realize what was happening…it took every benefit away from the whole ordeal. You cost me every shred of my effort to preserve myself. You caused my memories a lot of pain, you idiotic child! And now you finally have Potter smitten with you. It doesn't surprise me." 

Harry glared menacingly at Voldemort, who only ignored him and sent a shower of curses at Ginny that none of them had ever heard before, but she stumbled back. 

"Ginny!" Ron cried, catching her in his arms as she collapsed with an unearthly scream that hollowed through and tore their hearts. She shuddered and shook uncontrollably. 

"It's okay, sis, you'll be okay," Ron tried to tell her. He tried to look into her eyes, but they were unfocused, remembering in their curse along with pain the many trials she'd endured in her second year…what Voldemort had forced her to do. She continued to tremble as if caught in an inescapable nightmare.

Voldemort cackled at this. It was a high-pitched, cold, mirthless, obnoxious laugh that made the air stale and dry with the sound of death and evil intentions. Ron looked up at Voldemort with passionate hate in his fierce cerulean eyes. He gently laid Ginny on the ground behind him, and stood to face the black-robed demon. 

"You'll never win, Voldemort," he said, pronouncing each syllable of his name with a firm voice, "you know that, don't you? You won't win, because We. Won't. Let. You." He was so sure of every word; Hermione felt a surge of pride and love for him and an unwavering loyalty, not as usual towards Harry or Dumbledore, but towards Ron. 

"Silly boy," Voldemort spat back at him, a strange look in his reddened eyes, "You're only a sidekick to my worst enemy. Why, that's almost worse than being the enemy itself. So dull, so…insignificant you are to me. But then again, one step lower-" 

Hermione saw the Dark Lord's wand as it turned to her. She felt a burning, stabbing sensation of some curse. It was similar to what Ron had described when they were at Malfoy Manor. A stabbing, tearing pain raced up her arms, eating her apart from inside. But she didn't feel it either. What she could really feel was someone holding on to her hand tightly, shaking her as gently as they could. 

"Go," she managed to say. "Fine. Go." 

The hand let go.

Ron let go of Hermione's hand reluctantly, but he was relieved she could still say something, anything, really. Voldemort was going to die, Ron would be sure of that even if he had to do it the muggle way. That wasn't a requirement yet, though.

"Expelliarmus," he shouted, and amazingly, it worked. It didn't matter that his wand arm was broken; he had sent the spell perfectly as Hermione usually did. Voldemort's wand flew from his hand, but he instantaneously summoned it back with a mere "Accio wand" and a wave of his long hand. 

"I'm not that easy to fool, Weasley. On the contrary, Expelliarmus," he said calmly, and both Harry and Ron's wands left their hands and were caught, not by Voldemort, but by a man behind them. They turned to around to see Wormtail smirking rodently at them. 

Voldemort narrowed his eyes till they could hardly be distinguished in his face, and jubiliantly aimed his wand at Harry. Ron ran and stood in front of his best friend, arms outstretched in complete protection. 

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill me first," he said determinedly, holding his position. 

Ron words echoed inside Harry's head, and suddenly he remembered their first year, with the giant chess set. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_"Yes…" said Ron softly, "it's the only way…I've got to be taken."_

_"NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted._

_"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me- that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!" _

Harry remembered the clang of the King's sword as it hit the surface of the chess board when he finally won. Sacrifices? The sword?

"Oh, you exasperate me!" Voldemort said, greatly angered by him. 

"Avada Kedavra!" 

A bolt of green light shot vividly across the air. Half of it reached its goal of Ron's chest, but the other half bounced off, reflected by the sword Harry was now holding in front of Ron. He fell completely limp onto Harry, who set him on the ground. Was he dead? There was no life left in him, it seemed. His hands were cold, his eyes looked forward with no emotion, expressionless, and a pale gloom hung over him like a cloud. 

But only for a moment. Suddenly he convulsed with an explosion of pain, his eyes rolled back into his head and Harry could hear several of his bones snapping grotesquely, but he never screamed. Finally the convulsions stopped, and Ron let out a breath with such weariness as Harry had never heard. But he was alive. He turned back with triumph to Voldemort who looked completely astounded by this event.  But Voldemort turned his ugly head to Harry with more hate and desire to kill him than ever before.

He came closer and closer to Harry, a silent curse pounding in his head. "Crucio," he said, pointing the wand at him suddenly. Harry fought to stand as the pain coursed through his body with a foul strength. But Voldemort was saying something else…somehow he moved his attention from the curse to what Voldemort was saying. He held his sword up with all the effort he had to shield himself from the curse, but his sword missed. The green light hit him straight on…and reflected off, making his scar burn hot for a moment, but then it faded, and he stood there, shocked, wondering why it hadn't killed him. The effects of Cruciatus Curse had worn off also. If it wasn't for the awe and terror on Voldemort's face, he would have thought he was dead. This total survival of the curse gave him courage, and he decided to approach the Dark Lord. 

"Voldemort. Do you know what you have done? To me...and to everyone else?" Harry asked him this and he could feel the bitter tears well up when he remembered…everything.

"You killed my parents. That has caused me twenty-one years of misery and regret that I was too young to help them. You framed an old friend of my parents for what this pathetic rat did," he said, holding his hand out to gesture at him. The wands in Wormtail's grubby paws came flying to Harry, as if he had summoned them. Harry somehow didn't feel surprised that that happened. He merely dropped them beside his feet as though they weren't necessary.

"You corrupted the hearts and minds of innocent people, and set fear in those of others" he continued, glancing at the other Death Eaters, and then down at Ginny. "You killed Cedric Diggory, one of my true friends. You have caused an insurmountable amount of pain. Pain and torment and horrible darkness for so many people, and not just wizards. This has been my duty ever since I found out what you were, not are, because you no longer can cause any of us the torture you did before. Finally, I can finish it. This is for everyone whom you've ruined with your evil purposes."

Harry charged toward Voldemort, who tried to curse him, but found that yet again, the curse shattered as it reached him, like a mirror. Harry lifted the sword, and with a mighty blow, plunged it into Voldemort's heart. 

An icy, high-pitched shriek erupted from him, and with blinding flash of green flames, Voldemort burst into fire and burned up, taking a vacuum of other screams of pain, sobbing, fear, and all other hurt he caused in with him. There was an ear splitting roar as the green fire consumed itself in unquenchable thirst and vanished, leaving no trace of the wizard behind it. Harry drew breaths quickly and tore the sword from the ground where it had stayed in the fire. But there were no marks upon it at all. It was not sullied, and the bright name of Godric Gryffindor shone in gold, bright and radiant in glory. 

_~Evyfleur_


	21. Love, Death, and Mystery

**Chapter 21**

**Author's Note: **Okay everyone, this is mostly a transition chapter which is the reason for it to be relatively short. I promise that the big love confrontation will finally take place in the next chapter, but until then I hope that I haven't bored you too much. My faithful reviewers, I thank you for your feedback, and I ask for new feedback too! It's hard to continue writing this for maybe three or four people who read it. Please read and review! Thank you and enjoy…

**Wytil**- Eek! This isn't twelve hours, is it? Well, I was trying to decide how I wanted to write this, and it's being exceptionally difficult. That figures, doesn't it? Yes, many people live! You'll get a good picture of that in this chapter.

**Sylvia**- My dear friend, I have a proposition…I might write a sequel to this story if you could help me. You have such good ideas, and I'd love to write them into another story with Ron, Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ginny, and Genevieve…what do you think? I'd like to see their wedding. Thank you for your awesome review, gurl!

**Lily Michelle**- Yes! They're alright! Just read and find out. I hope you like this next chapter! Thank you for the review, and please continue to read!

**Cariel****- *blushes* That's one of the best reviews I've ever gotten. It makes me feel all good inside that I write fanfiction…*smiles* I hope you like this next chapter!**

**Leigh**- woohoo! Really? I'm glad you like it! This is a rather boring chapter, I guess. Except for the Dumbledore answer of course…have fun reading and yes, 10 days, see you at Barnes and Noble. Who are you dressing as?

**_Love, Death, and Mystery_**

            The fighting stopped suddenly. The Death Eaters looked with terrified expressions upon the place where Voldemort now ceased to stand. The Weasley brothers woke from the curses that were placed on them: Percy freaked out, Charlie rubbed his head in confusion and astonishment, and Bill immediately got up to take care of the remaining Death Eaters. Genevieve ran forward with tears in her eyes to throw herself down next to Draco, she shook him anxiously and kept asking him if he was alright.  

            Dumbledore observed all of this action and turned to smile at Harry with a final sort of twinkle in his deep, ancient blue eyes…the twinkle that told him that it was truly over. He gave Harry a commanding raise of his eyebrows, and then turned away to go release the group of people who had been tied up earlier in the battle. A swift wave of his wand accomplished that. 

            As all of this happened, Harry felt the burden he had been carrying all of his life leave him with a joyful flight. He could live his life in peace now. He felt free and content, justified in the right decision he made for the wizarding world, his parents, and himself. He took a long glance at the sword he held in his hands, the sword of Godric Gryffindor, a man whom he felt a strange connection with, one much stronger than just a common house bond. But this feeling couldn't hold back the rest he felt towards his friends, he looked to the ones who were standing, relieved or struck by what Harry had just done, and to the ones who were still lying on the ground; the friends who sacrificed themselves for him. 

The Cruciatus curse was an incredibly powerful one, especially coming from the wand of Lord Voldemort himself; Harry could understand why Ginny wasn't moving, and why Hermione was just stirring. Draco forced himself up to aid the others with his wife there by his side. He seemed to have totally let his guard down- it was an odd occurrence indeed. Hermione was now trying to sit up, but she couldn't. After a small struggle, Harry watched her fall back to the ground in weariness. He held out his hand for her, and with a bit more help, she was sitting up and beaming brilliantly at Harry.

"You did it! You defeated Voldemort. I knew you could, Harry," she exclaimed, laughing wearily but happily.

"I think a better word would be 'We', Hermione. I didn't do this by myself. Who knows, I could still be stuck in my room if it weren't for you and Draco and Ron."

With Ron's name suddenly pounding in Hermione's head, she turned around to see where he had gone. "Oh," she gasped in fear as she saw him lying still, quiet and pale on the ground. She hurried over to him, half crawling from the remaining pain of the curse. She called to him, softly at first, but became afraid when he didn't react.

"Ron…Ron, wake up, it's over…Ron? Oh no," she wailed, a tear sliding down her cheek. He felt so cold to her touch. She brushed the ginger hair out of his shut eyes and rested her hand on his face.

Harry noticed what was going on, and seeing Dumbledore standing there with an unreadable expression, asked frantically, "He isn't dead, is he, Professor? I deflected most of the curse! He can't die, Dumbledore, sir, he just can't! What will we do?" 

Hermione couldn't bear the pain she felt now. It was nothing like the Cruciatus curse, but it was worse. He was gone, gone forever. She leaned down and kissed his lips, they still had a touch of warmth in them, she felt. The tear on her face fell to where she had just kissed him. With a heave from lack of strength, she pulled Ron onto her lap and cried over him, looking on her best friend and the boy she had fallen in love with. That was all gone now. She looked at his face, his legs and arms…his hands? Ron's fingers were ever so slightly clawing at the ground. Hermione's eyes widened in amazement and she gasped. Her heart leapt with every good feeling she'd ever had, as though there was an anti-dementor around. She pushed his hair away from his face again to see his blue eyes flicker open and close. Then he smiled dimly; a look that was rejoicing inside, though it couldn't pass completely through his physical body. Finally he groaned, feeling the life rush back into him strangely enough through his back, through his chest, and even through one of his cheeks. Incidentally, this was where Hermione was holding him. He looked up at her in slight shock: her eyes were intensely focused on him with a jubilant expression.

"You're alive," she whispered to him, kissing him on the cheek. That burst of energy gave him power to talk.

"I was just testing you. Hmpf," he managed to say. It was a lame attempt at lightening the situation, but Hermione loved it anyway. Suddenly she felt very drained, but she continued to hold onto Ron. She would never let anything separate them again.

Harry watched in wonder as he watched Ron rise from being, well, virtually dead. He gave Dumbledore a look as if to say, 'did you know this would happen?' 

"Remarkable," Dumbledore muttered under his breath, his eyes still on Ron and Hermione. "We should probably get these people to the Hospital Wing, shouldn't we?" he said much louder, looking around with that familiar twinkle in his eye once again.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Later that night, all those involved in the battle were camped about the dark Hospital Wing, causing Madam Pomfrey much stress and others a bit of a hindrance. Most people were talking quietly about what had happened, such as "Is it true, is he dead?" and "I saw it with me own eyes, I'll tell you," by the dim light of dozens of candles sitting on the nightstands. The Death Eaters were being tended to with equal care, as was Harold the Butler, who was talking to Dumbledore. Some people were asleep (with help from Madam Pomfrey's potions) and more were just silent, watching what was going on around them. This was the case with Ron and Hermione, Ron was too weak to talk again, but he felt a small amount of life leak into him all the time. He figured out that this was every time Hermione looked at him. She also was observing instead of speaking. 

Ginny had finally come around with the help of Professor Snape and some of his experience regarding Voldemort's choice curses. He brewed a potion for her that caused her pain to go away somewhat, and she seemed to be much better. She was deep in conversation with Harry, wearing a genuine smile on her face, about what had happened and what had yet to take place. Hermione glanced over at Ron again, on the bed next to hers, just to make sure he was doing alright. She took his hand, and immediately he looked up right into her eyes. Ron felt a surge of strength as she touched him. He could talk again.

"Look at those two," he said, grinning at Ginny and Harry. "They're so mushy."

"I don't know," Hermione disagreed, "I think it's rather cute. Ginny's dream finally came true…and Harry is with the best person possible for him, I think. As well as Draco, I'm pleased that he and his wife are together again, they look so glad that this is finally over." 

Ron smiled lopsidedly at Hermione's comments. That was the smile with which she fell in love. 

"Where does that leave us?" he said boldly, holding onto Hermione's hand as tightly as he could.

"Leave us?" Hermione asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about. 

"Mione, I'm cold," Ron said, changing the subject swiftly. He looked hopefully at her. Sighing in resignation, she got out of her bed as quietly as possible so as not to attract any attention to herself, and lied down next to Ron, pulling the covers up to her chin and giving him a warm hug. 

"Thank you. Goodnight, Mione," he said, curling up in her arms and falling asleep like a little lost child. 

"Goodnight, Ron," she said, placing a small kiss on his forehead and drifting off into pleasant dreams beside him.

Nearby, Draco took a small notebook out and chalked a mark on his side of the paper. He waved it tauntingly in Harry's direction, who shrugged with a half-smile and got up, excusing himself from Ginny's presence. He didn't approach Draco, however…he approached Dumbledore. 

"Yes, Harry?" Dumbledore asked him as he saw the young man. He had stopped talking to Harold and was sitting in a chair near the fireplace in the Wing. Harry sat down across from him, feeling somehow as though he was in the Headmaster's office.

"I was wondering, sir, if I could ask you a question?" 

"You have just done so, but go ahead," he responded calmly. 

Harry fidgeted in his chair and then burst out, "when we were on the battlefield you looked at Ron and Hermione and said 'remarkable'. What were you talking about? Why didn't Ron die?" 

Dumbledore put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a pair of candies wrapped in bright yellow foil. "Lemon drop?" he asked Harry. He accepted a lemon drop gratefully and listened as Dumbledore spoke:

 "Harry, I have lived for quite a long time on this earth, I must say, and though I have seen many things, and know many others, I can not completely answer your questions. All I can tell you is the truth, with the knowledge that you are capable to comprehend it…I misunderstood that in your first year at Hogwarts, but I don't any longer. 

'The reason Ronald Weasley did not _die is because you love him very much, and you deflected most of that curse with not only Godric's sword, but with that strong and loyal bond of friendship that you have with him. James displayed that same trait with Sirius Black, I remember. How I ever thought he was guilty of betraying your parents I will never know. But the reason Mr. Weasley _lived_ is a completely different one, if I am right. He still experienced some of the impact of that curse, the death curse, but he lived. That is the reason I said 'remarkable.' For as soon as Miss Granger touched him, it was as if the light, life, and warmth rushed from her into him. Their bond was tried and tampered with earlier in life, but this journey, quest, or what you will call it, to find you, and to find Ginny; it completely changed them. It brought them back to their original friendship and built upon it in the most profound and peculiar way I have ever seen. _

'The fact that they are in love with each other is natural, I saw that from their first year here. But the fact that their love is the strongest kind I have ever seen among anyone and that it conquered death above all things…_that_ is a mystery. Some questions may never be answered, Harry. I think that the only way you will find the answer to this question is to continue to stay with Ron and Hermione for the rest of your life. Perhaps then you will find an answer, but I doubt you will ever be able to put it into the limited words of man. No, I think it will be a much deeper understanding than that.

 'Another lemon drop?" he offered, sitting back in his chair to think upon what he just said.

"No thank you, Professor," said Harry, getting up, "but thank you for trying to answer my question."

"You're welcome, but I would get some sleep now if I were you." 

"Yes, sir."

Harry went to have a small conversation with Draco, who introduced him to Genevieve, and then found his way back through the many people in the Wing to find his own bed, where he thought upon mysteries until a peaceful sleep overtook him.

_~Evyfleur_


	22. A Feast of Conclusion

**Chapter 22:**

**Author's Note:** Last chapter! But don't worry! I'm planning on writing a sequel, so I will be back…to be a bit Arnold about the whole thing. I really want to thank all my readers, whether you reviewed or not, and I'm so glad that you gave the time to reading this. I hope you enjoyed it. To my ever faithful reviewers:

**PyroAndrea****- Thank you! I loved that chapter, and I love good!Draco as well. I just can't get away from him. If you wait a bit, I'm in the midst of writing a fic where Draco will be the main character. Thank you for the great review!**

**Sylvia Malfoy-** Sylvia, thank you so much for reminding me of those things I forgot, at least, for the necklaces and for Augery and Noss. The notebook and bet I have under control, and they are connected, hehe, but you'll see. I'll probably email you about the sequel I want to write soon. Thank you so much for being my most faithful reviewer ever! You're awesome! Your reviews have kept me going so many times when I felt like quitting, and you're just too shrewd at knowing what's coming! I hope you'll enjoy this last chapter. Just tell me if I need to edit it. 

**Hrei-seisn****- I'm so glad you've read it! Thank you for the awesome review and I hope you like the last chapter, feel free to read any of my other stories! *blatantly advertises herself***

**Leigh-** Eep! That was so fun, wasn't it? Sheesh, that book was dark, good, but dark. And to respond to Ron dying, I wouldn't have forgiven myself for killing Ron either, I would never do that, don't worry about it. He had hardly enough of a part in the new book! I was so angry! And I'm starting to hate Hermione, she had way too much of a part. *snuffles, and cries even harder at the mention of him* Enjoy the last chapter!

**gah****- Thank you for your extraordinarily strong flame! It will be used to cook Sam's tAters, precious. Enjoy the last chapter! **

**Spaced Out Space Cadet-** Awesome! I'm excited that you found my fic! I hope you like this last part, and please look for my sequel, it should be starting in a week or so. Thanks for the wonderful review!

**Gigaku****- I'm so flattered! You're review has completely brightened my day. Thank you so much, and please look for the sequel! My humble thanks for your great support while I was writing this. I hope you like the last chappie!**

**Ickle**** Ronniekins- I don't mind your review at all! I'm so glad you read it! And I'm glad you like it! And yes, OotP was brilliantly written. It was so dark and psychological! I wasn't expecting that…and there definitely wasn't enough Ron in it. Though I was proud of him. Thank you for your great compliments, **ron! I miss you muchly! Hope you like this last chapter.**

**owlpost1992-** Bump! They didn't apparate because they knew that sooner or later the battle would have to be fought, and it was the appropriate time to face the challenge that was coming towards them, and they assumed that Voldie might have some sort of device that would stop them from disapparating. Good question, thanks! I really appreciated your reviews and your support for my story through my time writing it. Thank you very much…enjoy the last chapter!

**Disclaimer:** My biggest thanks is to J.K. Rowling, who owns Harry Potter, Ron , Hermione, Draco, Ginny, and all those other people and things we know so very well. I take no credit for creating anything but specified objects. By the way, if any of you see a Warner Bros. associate wandering around here,  kill them for me, will you? Or just wait until I get there, I will take care of them. Thanks! 

**Chapter dedication:** This chapter is dedicated to one of my reviewers and one of my greatest helpers in this story: Sylvia Malfoy.

**_A Feast of Conclusion_**

            A few weeks later, most people were out of the Hospital Wing and the rumor mill of the school had started turning out stories so wild that Dumbledore knew he would have to tell everyone what had truly happened quite soon, or he would have some very curious parents on his hands. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Ginny, and Genevieve were staying in Gryffindor tower once again, but surprisingly, Hermione hadn't seen Augery or Noss anywhere. It was starting to worry her; what had happened to them? Were they alright? It seemed so strange that they should simply disappear without any trace. She'd asked other girls in the dormitory where Augery was, but they didn't know who she was talking about. 

            In the common room the fire was warm and the air was filled with the laughter and chattering of all the Gryffindors, eager to tell their own story of what they thought had happened. Hermione was snuggled deep into one of the squashy armchairs, reading an old, tattered copy of Hogwarts: A History that she had found on a table nearby. 

            "Hey, I wanted to show you something," whispered a voice near her ear. Hermione jumped and turned around with a slight glare on her face to see Ron grinning.

            "Did you have to do that?" she demanded, trying to sound angry. She actually felt unexplainable warmth when he was nearby, though, and it was al she could do not to smile. He gave her a sad puppy face. "Alright, what do you have to show me?" she said, giving in to him. Her necklace had turned rather pink. His was a deep red.

            "Come with me," he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the portrait hole. Suddenly he started to run, Hermione clutching onto his hand and trying to keep up. They jogged through familiar corridors, went down the trick stairway (Hermione remembered the right step), passed the great hall, and suddenly she remembered the route. 

            "This is the way to the kitchen, Ron! Why are we going there?"

            "We're not," he responded, "we're going past that." And indeed they did pass the painting of the bowl of fruit, complete with ticklish pear. Instead, they stopped five portraits after that to see an intricately detailed picture of a highly unusual house. It looked as though it was held together by magic. There was a Christmas tree in one corner, a bright orange fire blazing with dozens of stockings hung above on the mantle. There were children running everywhere, a few women were baking in the kitchen, and out the window Hermione could see several people playing quidditch. Ron was not looking at this painting, however, he was looking at her.

            "I came down here for a midnight snack one night and went the wrong way when I left. I found this…do you know where this is, Hermione?" He took both her hands and she turned to face him. There was a look of earnest longing in his eyes. 

            "Y-yes I do, but, b-but it doesn't make any sense. Why would there be a picture of the Burrow here?"

            "I have no idea why. Not many things in Hogwarts Castle make sense, though. Those people in the picture, I have no idea who they are, but they are in our house. It must mean something, it might be the past, it might be the future, but it's my house."

            Hermione glanced at the painting once again. _Yes, there must be a message in there somewhere_. "But what _does it mean?" she asked him. He stared at her for a long time without speaking; he looked into her eyes with a discerning nature. He reminded of Mr. Weasley the slightest bit. Then he looked away again, back to the painting, where there were a few kids sitting around, listening to an adult tell them stories. As though he'd been electrocuted, Ron suddenly looked at Hermione and opened his mouth to speak._

            "I, I need to tell you something, 'Mione. One of us was going to have to say it at some point, why not now?" He seemed to be trying to gather courage. "I think, in normal circumstances, if this whole ordeal hadn't happened, I would probably be in some sort of argument with you, shouting at you from ten feet away to say this, and launching into a speech about how I was right and whatnot…but that isn't how it happened, is it?" 

She laughed, thinking he was probably right, but let him continue. 

"We weren't always together like I thought we'd be. I thought me, you, and Harry would all be living near each other with the same or similar jobs, and we'd never be apart, but it was so much worse than I thought it could be…how am I supposed to say this?"

Hermione smirked at him. "You're stalling, Ronald Weasley."

"I know I am, just lay off. This is difficult, okay?" He grinned back at her, but suddenly pulled her into a hug, enclosing her small figure in his lanky arms and pressing his cheek against hers. He had to slouch slightly and she was on her tiptoes. They both closed their eyes in the sweet contentment of the moment. 

"I love you, 'Mione," he said hopefully, still hugging her tightly. 

"I love you, Ron," she said back, a tear of bliss falling from her eye to his shoulder. Finally he pulled back, and, giving her a mischievous, ecstatic expression, said, "This must be the part where I sweep you into my arms and kiss you, right?" 

"Oh no, Ron, I don't think," but her feet had already left the ground and she had her hands clasped around his neck for support. He brought her closer and she saw that for the first time, the darkness had flown from his eyes and a crystal clear happiness was exposed in them for what it was: love and nothing else. He leaned in and placed his lips upon hers in a chaste kiss. That didn't last long, however, and it deepened, Hermione taking one hand away from his neck and running it affectionately through his bright red hair. He almost dropped her at this surprising action, but regained himself and laughed, bringing her even closer so they could rub noses a bit. It was a long and meaningful kiss between the two of them; it wasn't awkward at all, but no more or less than the kiss they had both dreamed of sharing since they had fallen in love. When they finally broke apart, the faint sound of two people clapping could be heard. Turning to the painting once again, Augery and Noss were in the foreground, smiling and cheering them on.

"Hurrah!" said Augery.

"We knew it would only take a little bit of encouragement to get you to finally confess it," Noss declared proudly. "It took you long enough, though."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other in surprise and turned back to the picture on the wall. "Are you saying," Hermione asked, "that you two are actually," but Augery interrupted her.

"Well, not officially, not yet. Just wait, though, you'll see. But don't you dare go doing something foolish again, or we'll have to intercede." 

Ron gaped open-mouthed at her. "I can't believe we are being lectured by our own" 

"Shh!" Hermione said, putting a finger to Ron's lips. 

"Right. Not yet, yeah, I know. I want to carry you into the Gryffindor common room like this, it'll be fun, let's go." Augery put her hands to her mouth in laughter and Noss stifled his by turning it into a cough. Hermione tried to put up a fight, but Ron was just too strong for her, and he happened to have taken her wand when he first picked her up, so she couldn't hex him. 

"Ron! Let go!" she said, kicking her legs furiously.

"Nope," he said amusedly, and with a hasty good-bye to Augery and Noss, continued to carry her up to the common room. Finally she gave in and put her arms around his neck again. 

"I love you, Ron," she whispered, sighing, and burying her head in his chest.

"I love you too," he said faintly, kissing her brow.  As they reached the portrait hole, the fat lady in the pink dress gave a gasp and elbowed the snoozing witch beside her. 

"Vi! Wake up! It's Ron and Hermione! They've finally found each other!" Violet woke up with a violent elbow to her ribs and looked very pleasantly surprised by this too. She quickly hurried off to tell all the other portraits in the castle what had happened. 

The fat lady cleared her throat importantly, and with an air of pride demanded the password. "Montrose Magpies," said Ron and the painting swung open. With some difficulty, Ron managed to climb through the hole carrying Hermione, and stumbled into the room. 

It was relatively empty by now, but the four people in the common room stopped talking in shock as they saw the two peoples' expressions, Ron carrying Hermione. It was a long-awaited event indeed, and it was a welcome remark when Harry spoke up.

"Finally!" he said loudly. They suddenly noticed that there were others in the room. Hermione blushed furiously and bit her lip, but Ron turned beet red and his ears were burning deeply. 

"Yes, that is definitely the right word for this occasion," said Draco, laughing, "And, if I am not mistaken," he continued, taking a small notebook out of his pocket and giving it to Harry, "I won the bet. I told you that this was going to happen, didn't I?" He smirked widely, and with a humbled expression, Harry consented that Draco was right. 

"Okay, you beat me this time Malfoy, but just wait!" Harry took some galleons out of his pocket and handed them to Draco, who accepted them happily enough. Ron and Hermione were taken aback at this blatant talk about a bet concerning them. Putting Hermione down, they both settled themselves on the couch. Ron summoned his wizard chess to play a game and at the same time asked, "So, what were you betting on?" It was definitely a dangerous question, but Harry didn't seem to have any problem with it. 

"We were betting on how long it would take you to finally come to your senses and tell Hermione, (and for you to tell Ron) how much you love each other. I betted for a longer time, but Draco was right. That battle did seem to have a catalyst effect on the pair of you. I was wrong." 

"Hmm…" Ron said simply, and with a small smile, started playing chess with Hermione, who gave him a furtive look of joy, no matter who was betting on their love life.

*~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*

In light (or heavy) of the great destruction of Lord Voldemort, and the capture of his Death Eaters, Dumbledore decided that a feast should be held in order to explain the details of the Last Battle, as it was now being called (because of the Daily Prophet headline), and all the wizards who helped out (the Soldiers) were called to join it, too. At the Gryffindor table sat all the Weasleys except for the twins and Molly. Harry sat next to Ginny, Hermione sat next to Ron (of course), and Draco sat next to his cheerful and excited wife, Genevieve. Snape, Lupin, and Black were all there also, but they sat at the staff table, gracing it with their presence. Fudge was also there looking shocked but pleased at the outcome of all the fuss. Ron, Hermione, and Harry weren't too happy about him, though. 

Dumbledore stood up, his bright red robes glimmering resplendently, and held his hands out to silence the vast, chattering crowd of students, teachers, and other…well, frankly, random people who happened to be there. He looked around eyebrows knitted with more concentration than the usually worried expression he carried. 

"A few words and a toast, before we begin," he said, his old, strong voice filling the whole chamber with relative ease. There was that familiar twinkle in his eyes once again, as he prepared to speak. "I would like to ask you to please remain quiet until I have finished explaining, so that everyone may hear the true story of what happened three weeks ago tonight." Everyone settled more comfortably into their seats and turned to Dumbledore, readying their reservoirs to receive the usual amount of stunning and amazing information he liked to confide in them. Ron slipped his arms around Hermione's waist and placed his head on her shoulder. She couldn't help but grin at that warm, irresistibly perfect feeling of them being together. Harry winked at Ron from across the table. Ron winked back with a grin.

Dumbledore continued to tell the story of Harry's disappearance, Ginny's kidnapping, and the recovery of both these people, he even told with intricate details (including that of the death eaters trapped in lavender bubbles) all about the Last Battle and what had happened. Then he raised his glass and began a toast. 

"The Dark Lord, as some call him, more properly known as Voldemort, has finally been vanquished. Today, we are here to celebrate this spectacular occasion of the return to peaceful normalcy in the wizarding world, and to recognize the courageous and hard-working people who helped to bring it about. Professors Snape and Lupin, first of all, lent their homes and aid in order to help Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy in the earlier stages of this quest. Ginny Weasley is also very worthy of thanks. She is now, I might as well announce this here," he said with a small laugh, "soon to be the wife of Harry Potter. Congratulations, dear. I'd like to thank you for bravery in the midst of captivity, and for your indefatigable strength during the Last Battle!" 

Ginny turned slightly pink, turning the gold and ruby engagement ring on her finger absentmindedly. Harry gave her a hug, and they sat happily, listening to Dumbledore address the next person. 

"Now, to a boy who has turned and trusted his own heart instead of the heart of one who forced him to listen to evil and unjust decisions: a true enemy and friend alike in times of trouble and dire need, I thank Draco Malfoy." The Slytherin table was having trouble containing itself. Everyone there was smiling like Hermione had never seen before, they all seemed extraordinarily proud of their former house member. There were very few who were scowling, though there was a present minority. Draco didn't know whether to smile or frown it seemed, and just sat there, looking more than usually pale and shocked at the reaction he was getting from other students; positive, encouraging reactions. 

"Ah! I'd like to thank a clever…no…brilliant young woman who we couldn't have done without, and who, I daresay, may have future commitments with a certain, present redheaded boy. Miss Hermione Granger!" He raised his cup and bowed his head politely. Ron was going very red indeed and seemed to be hanging onto Hermione for support. She patted his hand confidently, and wondered if Dumbledore could be right.

"To the man I have just mentioned, he seems to be capable of turning a variety of colors, apart from his other talents. Ron Weasley has held the group together the whole time, acting responsibly and with good strategy and tact. You are dear to our hearts, another noble and valiant Weasley whom we all love dearly." Many couldn't help but laugh at this, and Ron held to Hermione even more tightly. She turned around and gave him a small kiss on the cheek to take his pressure away. He immediately loosened his grip, and just kept smiling with a silly expression. 

"Finally…hm, it seems this word has been used a lot lately, and why not? It seems to fit with several situations right now," Hermione could have sworn she saw Dumbledore look towards them for a moment, "we come to the last person. He is called the Boy Who Lived, and he has survived Voldemort's darkest reign. When he came back from a long absence, this boy killed him. He has saved us from years of devastation and destruction and has created a fertile and potentially prosperous, healthy world for us to live in once more. Order has been brought back to this society by a boy who sits here now, humbly sharing all his worth, bravery, and knowledge with friends and allies. Harry Potter. I am finished. You may eat your meals now." 

There was a pause of continued, respectful silence from everyone until Dumbledore sat down, and immediately, an ear-splitting roar of applause, shouting, stomping, goblets being clanked, songs being sung, laughter and cries of joyful conclusion rang out through the hall, filling everyone with an inescapable mirth. The plates were loaded with every good food imaginable, from roast ham to Shepard's Pie and on and on, multiple courses, multiple cases of Butterbeer and ale, and deserts were consumed, the talking of some was loud and cheerful, the silence of others was content and thoughtful, and the beautiful evening ran on and on, until, finally, McGonagall ushered the students off to bed, and most others left. In the end, only Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Harry were left in the Great Hall talking to one another, all but Harry with deep blue necklaces showing their emotions. Draco sat silently, just listening to the others' conversations, a new and improved look of enjoyment evident on his face.

"You know what, Ron?" Harry asked him.

"No, what?" he replied.

"You saved my life."

"Oh, yeah, right Harry. I think you've been hexed just a few dozen times too many." He tapped his head knowingly, took a generous swig of Butterbeer and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his robes. "Ron!" Hermione chided him. Ron just smiled as if he knew she would say that. 

"No, it's true." Hermione became interested now.

"Really? Why's that? What happened?" she asked curiously, leaning in.

"You had fallen when Voldemort cast those curses on you, and Ron had tried to get Voldemort's wand away from him, but it didn't work. Voldemort took our wands away instead, and gave them to Wormtail. Then Ron just had to show high moral fiber and threw himself in front of me to block any curses, saying Voldemort would have to kill him first. And he tried to."

"But you deflected most of the curse, it shouldn't have had any of the effect you're mother's protection had on you," Ron interrupted, trying to modestly disprove Harry's theory.

"I deflected _most of the curse," Harry replied emphatically, "meaning that __some of the curse had hit you, and I could see what effect it had on you. I'm just glad no one else saw it. It was horrible. That saved me, though. He couldn't kill me."_

"Dumbledore said you reflected the other curse with your sword completely. It wasn't me, it was Godric's sword."

"I know that. I deflected the first curse he sent with my sword, but he sent another one when I was running toward him, and it didn't hit me at all. It was like I had some sort of force field around me and the curse completely disappeared, sort of…broke up and diffused. It was strange." He looked like he felt inferior in descriptive words to convey how the curse bounced off of him. Hermione sat at the table, her eyes wide and both her hands covering her shocked face. Ron gazed blankly.

"What's a force field?" he asked confusedly. Draco seemed to share the same bewildered expression. 

"The curse shattered, it never hit him…it bounced off," Hermione said briskly, trying to explain. "Exactly," Harry said, feeling slightly taken aback at the way Hermione could tell his feelings to others better than he himself.

"I was like a mirror," he added pathetically. Ron now looked at him in understanding, and a smile spread across his face. 

"Wicked! I never would have thought I could save the life of Harry Potter!" Ron said with a gleeful laugh, puffing out his chest like Percy. They all laughed, and continued their discussion with ease. Harry was beaming at Ron and Hermione, until finally Hermione got annoyed and demanded to know why he was so incredibly interested and cheerful about them.

"I'm just really happy for you two, that's all! I mean, I've known it since second year, but what took you so long to know that you loved each other? I'll never know, I guess. Perhaps it has to do with the stubborn streaks you both have."

There was an angry outburst from both of them at this, and the hall was filled with rather loud explanations of not being at all stubborn, and that that was a terrible assumption on Harry's part. Then they both looked at each other and humbly quieted. 

"Oh, yes!" Ron exclaimed suddenly, "thank you, Harry!" He said, trying to stand up, one hand his fumbling in his robe pocket. "Now, Hermione," he said, taking her hand and having her get up as well, "stand right here." Ron was grinning madly at her, but he wasn't red at all, which was unusual. Hermione looked pleasantly anxious at what was going on.

"You're our witnesses!" Ron said pointedly to Draco and Harry. They smirked at each other. He then took a tiny package wrapped in brown paper, and handed it to Hermione. "Open it!" he urged, looking expectantly at her. 

She slowly unraveled the wrappings of this mysterious package, her necklace a bright red around her neck. Inside, in a simple box, was a gold ring with a beautiful diamond set in it. Hermione gasped in amazement. "Ron," she whispered helplessly. 

Ron bent down on one knee, and, still grinning, asked, "'Mione? Will you marry me?" She looked down at me and immediately thought, _I don't need asking twice!_

"Yes!" she shouted, and they embraced, both as happy as could be, Draco and Harry smiling at them in amusement. They were together at last, and would be together forever. When they finally broke apart, it seemed to be hours later.

"I was just thinking," Ron said, "we'd better get back to the Burrow soon if we want to watch It's A Wonderful Life. I'm not about to break that promise, it sounds too…educational." 

"Sounds like a good plan to me," she said, with complete satisfaction. 

**The End.******

~_Evyfleur_


End file.
